Russia billionaire and Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, has decided to sell his Premier League club following the invasion of Ukraine from Russia.
The Russian billionaire has been at the helm of affairs since he bought the club in 2003, transforming the club with 19 major trophies. Abramovich was alleged to be one of the sponsors of the Russian invasion following his strong ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he has denied.
The 55-year-old’s decision is coming amid the fall-out from the Russian invasion and the mounting pressure from the European Parliament. In Abramovich statement, he said:
“I have taken the decision to sell the club after carefully looking at the current situation, it’s in the best interest of the club, the fans, the employees, as well as the club’s sponsors and partners.”
The Cheslea owner is now inviting potential buyers and has set the price at £4billion. Abramovich has also pledged to donate any net proceeds from the sale to help victims of the war in Ukraine.
Even though the British is yet to order any sanctions against Abramovich, the fear of having his properties seized by the British government sparked the decision to sell the club and also offload his villas in England as soon as possible.
As at the time of this report, he has rejected offers worth of £2.4billion for the club and four parties are believed to have received offer to buy Chelsea, including Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss.
According to daily telegraph, American bank, the Raine Group is in charge of the sale and the potential buyers have until the end of this week to make the purchase.