Is Abramovich still acting in Chelsea’s best interest?

The whole idea is that Roman Abramovich should be a benevolent owner who loves Chelsea and wants nothing more than the best club. Abramovich’s ownership of Chelsea served no other purpose, and when it became clear that Abramovich ended up on the British sanctions list, both statements came that Abramovich did not want to settle Chelsea’s debts to him at all, how the money would go to Fred and so on. .

Chelsea’s situation is difficult, of course. The club is in limbo as it cannot enter into new agreements and where the uncertainty about the future is great. It can already be assumed that this played at least a large role in Antonio Rudiger’s departure from the club, and also that other players learn to “appreciate the situation” as it is called a bit too well. It is important to remember, however, that it was not Chelsea that was punished, but Abramovich himself.

The consequences for Chelsea are expected to be less, less moderate and less expensive, the shorter this period of forgetfulness and uncertainty actually becomes. That is, the fastest Chelsea found and agreed with a buyer for the club, a new owner. And with three or four serious bids, that doesn’t seem to be a problem on this front. Rumors of Chelsea’s imminent departure seemed a bit exaggerated.

But suddenly, Roman Abramovich began to get into trouble. It starts with the fact that at the eleventh hour he suddenly asked all the bidders to increase their bids by £500m, which can be considered somewhat erratic. Then came the kicker as Abramovich and his team suddenly wanted to restructure the sale so that Abramovich could actually settle his £1.6bn claim on Chelsea. Which is unacceptable to the British government.

Here one must start to feel that Roman Abramovich’s beautiful words about just wanting the best for Chelsea and not caring about money were just words. The mere fact that he wants the money back makes it hard to take that with a non-profit owner and totally benevolent any more seriously. Perhaps even worse was that with this request, Abramovich risked extending Chelsea’s limbs over a much longer period of time.

With this, we begin to enter into a situation where Abramovich does indeed begin to intentionally harm Chelsea, should we choose to view the situation as a whole as something Abramovich in no way intended or controlled. A quick change of ownership could give Chelsea the time and opportunity to continue operating from their current position relatively unimpeded. A prolonged change of ownership with an unclear outcome threatens to make all forms of planning for the future impossible.

It must also be kept in mind that the problem with Abramovich’s actions is not only that he suddenly says he wants his money back, but that he also chooses to announce it so late in the process. The bid deadline has passed, the sanctions have been several months away, and coming up with entirely new requirements in this case can only intentionally complicate and complicate the whole process.

Another suspicion that has arisen is that Todd Boyle’s bid, which has been chosen as the favourite, has clear links to the current Chelsea management. That is, if the Boehly bid wins, people like Marina Granovskaija and Bruce Buck will continue to work for the club. In other words, the Chelsea owners and club management, who have had some sort of final say in the sale process, appoint the preferred buyer to be the bidder to keep them in the club.

There is also another potential technical issue with this. That is, the offer is based on freezing the excess funds and then going to the so-called “good causes”. What these good purposes feel is unclear and undefined, how this decision should be made and by whom, as well as the forms of how to freeze funds, this is also shrouded in mystery. In short, the British government appears to be hoping that the problems will be resolved by itself.

Of course, one must also ask oneself how the British government could put itself in the position of Roman Abramovich in the process that gave him the opportunity to get into trouble in this way. Of course, it can’t be entirely surprising that Abramovich has vested interests in this, or that Abramovich risks being a play in a larger political game. But then you remember what this is for the British government.

What the British government thinks it should have been able to do is apply the same mechanism as when the club is under management, ie appoint a special manager, or as Liverpool’s creditors did in early 2010 and appointed their president. The only task is to sell the club in the best possible way, when Messrs. Hicks and Gillette have proven themselves incapable, and act and decide on their own terms.

Chelsea is in a very complicated situation, and Roman Abramovich, by sponsorship or not ruling by the British government, has been placed in a position where he can choose to make the situation less or more complicated. So far, Abramovich has chosen to make it more complicated, with Chelsea feeling like a better club when it’s done as complicated as possible.

Time is a rare commodity for Chelsea. The sanctions make it impossible for the Abramovich companies to do any business in the UK. A special exception was made with very specific restrictions for Chelsea until May 31, that is, if it is now less than a month away. What happened to Chelsea after May 31 is not entirely clear. But it’s also not the only deadline Chelsea have to worry about.

Every year the Premier League holds its general assembly at the end of the season to determine the composition of the league next season. Officially, 20 clubs enter into a joint agreement for the next year. But what will happen if Chelsea are not allowed to enter into new agreements, and if Chelsea’s ownership status is still not entirely clear? Last year, the Premier League’s Ordinary General Assembly was held on June 10, and it will not be possible to hold it later this year.

Here we are in a hypothetical or perhaps theoretical situation where Chelsea are already risking being expelled from the Premier League. Of course, a lot can happen, but there is so little time left that you still need to be aware of the risks and ask yourself some rather important questions. Why was the last word given to Roman Abramovich? Does the British government have any plan B if Chelsea is not sold?

What is the role of Jim Ratcliffe’s bid for Chelsea, which was, for reasons unclear, higher than any other offer, received long after the deadline, and for Chelsea rather than the investment bank driving the process, in this political fox game? Roman Abramovich certainly has his own motives for his actions, but these are not motives that have anything to do in any way with Chelsea’s best interests. So maybe it’s time to put that fantasy where it belongs, on the swing seat!

As Todd Boeley’s offer to Chelsea has been accepted and he is officially the club’s preferred buyer, there is a formal process in which Chelsea will have a new owner before the end of May. It’s about the Premier League and the British government’s approval of the takeover. That may well be the case, but there’s no shortage of official question marks with this purchase, which could jeopardize his approval.

In parallel with the uncertainty off the pitch, Chelsea have begun to appear increasingly in a state of uncertainty both on the pitch and at the table. It has been clear in recent weeks that Chelsea are not at all playing with the same intensity and focus as before, the errors, especially defensively, are starting to pile up. As a letter in the mail, Chelsea started losing points and losing more and more matches.

Suddenly, Chelsea’s place in the Champions League began to risk ending up in the so-called danger zone. It would take Chelsea a lot to lose the top spot they still have, but they are still able to go from a place in the Champions League to a place where, if the season is a few weeks longer, they are seriously threatened.

The match against Leeds tonight is important and difficult. Everton have already scored three important points with Chelsea at the boiling Goodison Park. Tonight, Leeds will be, one must suppose, at least as boiling Elland Road would really feel good about repeating Everton’s feat and taking three points against Chelsea. Here we can find the difference between leaving and staying in the Premier League for both teams.

But the match is of course also important for Chelsea. Partly to keep Wolves behind in the league table. This is partly because Chelsea will play the FA Cup Final against Liverpool at Wembley in a few days. Chelsea would certainly prefer to go into that game with rye in the back rather than lose in the back. However, with only three days left in the FA Cup final, it is very likely that Chelsea will play a slightly larger reserve side tonight.

Chelsea’s end of the season is perhaps the only thing currently uncomplicated with Chelsea, the only thing they have left to play for, and certainly the only thing Chelsea must win, is the FA Cup.