« JI can only think of Chelsea with Roman Abramovich. So it’s very hard for me. It’s hard to imagine this going to end. It’s a huge change of course. With these words, Thomas Tuchel translated the thoughts of the many supporters of the London club. After 19 years at Chelsea, the Russian billionaire has decided to retire and put the club up for sale, which he has taken to a new dimension.
With two successes in the Champions League in particular, the Blues have joined the circle of very big European teams. Nevertheless, Roman Abramovich had gradually distanced himself, leaving Marina Granovskaia, his protege, to run day-to-day affairs. Russia’s entry into the war against Ukraine definitively sealed its decision.
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“Show white paw”
For Lukas Aubin, doctor in geopolitics specializing in Russia and sport, the will of the future former boss of the Blues can be explained in different ways. “We felt that for a few days, he had put his status at the head of the club on hold. He chose to put the club up for sale, a solution that seems to be the lesser evil. Abramovich quickly started this process, in order to show his credentials vis-à-vis Western investors and potential buyers. He takes the lead before possible sanctions, he wants to get away from Vladimir Putin. Indeed, it is indeed his relations with the head of the Kremlin that have been singled out for a few days.
Statement from Roman Abramovich.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 2, 2022
At the start of the 2000s, Roman Abramovich was part of the circle of oligarchs that allowed Vladimir Putin to come to power; Russia’s new strongman makes a sort of pact with his country’s most influential businessmen, as Lukas Aubin explains. “Putin was very clear with them, if they take part in the recovery of the country and that they do not present themselves in politics against him, they will have all the freedom to undertake and will not be worried on the legal level. Business is precisely at the heart of the ties between the Russian president and the businessman. In 2005, Moscow bought its oil company Sibneft for an amount estimated at 13 billion dollars.
The question of his links with the former KGB agent is also sensitive to his eyes. He does not hesitate to file a complaint for defamation against certain publications, like Catherine Belton’s book Putin’s Men in April 2020. The British journalist claimed that Abramovich had bought the Chelsea club at the request of its head of state and an apology had to be presented by the publisher.
Abramovich’s daughter took a stand against the war
However, the Kremlin’s increasingly authoritarian policy eventually alienated the two men. Other oligarchs are concerned, such as Mikhail Fridman (finance) and Oleg Deripaska (aluminum), who recently spoke out to call for regime change in Russia. If Roman Abramovich is not there yet, several signals testify to his distancing. “He is of Ukrainian origin through his mother,” says Lukas Aubin. He is also known to be very close to the Jewish community of Kiev. This Ukrainian conflict is also becoming a family affair, since we could see a message from his daughter on social networks which strongly protested against the war. »
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In addition, the Garage contemporary art museum in Moscow, owned by Abramovich, announced its closure “until the human and political tragedy unfolding in Ukraine ceases”. The 55-year-old businessman also announced that the net proceeds from the future sale of Chelsea will be donated to “a charitable foundation to help victims of the war in Ukraine”. Having become a citizen of Israel in 2018, Roman Abramovich knows that he is no longer in the odor of holiness in the United Kingdom, where sanctions have been imposed on him, including a ban on entering the territory. If he does not spin in the English way, his decision to leave Chelsea does mean the end of an era on the side of the London capital.