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For those of us that don't follow Premier League Football, what's the context here?

by dljsjr 5y ago

haunter 5y ago
Oligarch, one of the richest russian businessman, a close ally to Yeltsin and Putin too [0] Few days ago revealed that because of the current situation he will hand over "the stewardship and care of Chelsea FC" to a foundation, then pretty much everyone on the board stepped away [1] Then today he announced he will sell the whole club instead 0, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Abramovich#Relationship_with_Russian_leaders https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Abramovich#Relationship_... 1, https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/chelsea-foundation-trustees-report-roman-154748592.html https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/chelsea-foundation-trustees...
wartijn_ 5y ago
Roman Abramovich is a billionaire and the owner of Chelsea. The context is that he is Russian, Russia invaded Ukraine and now there are many calls to boycott Russian companies and block its oligarch from doing business outside of their home country.
biesnecker 5y ago
Chelsea FC, one of the larger clubs in the Premiership, is owned by Roman Abramovich, one of the Russian oligarchs personally named as a target of sanctions as a result of Russia invading Ukraine. Given that, and the possibility that his assets in the UK will be seized, he's selling his stake in the club. It would be like if the Dallas Cowboys were actually based in Moscow and the Russians had made it impossible for Jerry Jones to do business there and so he was selling his stake in the team.
desas 5y ago
Abramovich bought Chelsea for £140million in 2003, they were frequently trophyless but one of the top 5-6 teams. Since then he's loaned them £1.5billion and they've won the premier league and European champions league multiple times. They're the current European and Club World Cup champions. The football club don't own the football stadium or the rights to the name, they're on a ~180 year lease from the fan-owned trust. Abramovich also owns some expensive property in London. MPs have been asking questions in parliament about why he hasn't been sanctioned given his close links to Putin, he has been named in the Navalny 35 and the US CAATSA His first step was to hand over the running of the club to a charitable foundation, but then the charity commission started asking questions about it, and the directors started stepping away.
vanilla-almond 5y ago
This BBC report has a bit more context, but to summarise: - Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 for £140M - In total, Abramovich has loaned the club more than £1.5bn. - Abramovich, 55, is alleged to have strong ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he has denied. - Other Russian billionaires have already been the subject of European Union sanctions where their assets have been frozen. The United Kingdom government is yet to sanction Abramovich. - Billionaire Hansjorg Wyss had told Swiss newspaper Blick he had been offered the chance to buy the west London club. - Wyss said Abramovich wanted "to get rid of Chelsea quickly" after the threat of sanctions was raised in Parliament. Chelsea: Roman Abramovich says he plans to sell club: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60585081 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60585081
znkynz 5y ago
A Russian "oligach" who like all Putin oligachs, is a way for Putin to launder money, is in reality also a way for Putin to corrupt and influence via soft power. This Putin money launderer, purchased a London Football Club as a way to project soft russian power to corrupt London's political and business elite. He's now being effectively forced to sell it.
screye 5y ago
Chelsea means a lot more to Abramovich than just a toy. He is one of the few owners who attended most games and refused every approach to sell, despite the UK govt.'s best efforts to obstruct. He took the team from a bunch of nobodies to the most successful Premier League team over the last 20 years. He also invested a lot into future sustenance, leading to arguably the best academy in English football. He has always had shady roots, but no more than do most oligarchs. Especially ones from non-Western nations. He was well liked within the club, and disliked outside as all nouveau-riche clubs are. Had good relationships with players and came across as a fan, first as foremost. Also did a lot to remedy some of the anti-semitic history within the club. He was a major player in facilitating Putin's rise to power and reaped benefits from it. It is often said, that Chelsea was his way of owning a major western investment that Putin could not snatch away at a moment's notice. Due to hi ties with Putin, Roman has been under intense pressure to sell the club for the last 5 years. He was banned from visiting the club and his ability to inject funding was also hampered significantly. The war was the last nail in the coffin, as the sanctions are forcing him into a position where selling is the only option. Separating himself from the club saves face for the club and keeps it alive, at the expense of his ability to have any influence on it. Roman may be a less-than-honorable man out in the world, but to Chelsea fans, he was a true blue. It is a difficult dichotomy that Chelsea fans have lived with, but now is the hardest it has ever been. As far as a russian oil-tycoon(mafia?) oligarchs go, he has acted in good faith during the war and pushed vocally pushed for peace and resolution in the war. That's probably the most he can do without being shot. So, as a Chelsea fan, I'll take it.
- originalvichy 5y ago
  In a league in which most billionaire owners use teams as cash cows or long term investments he was different. A classic case of being the best of the worst.

For those of us that don't follow Premier League Football, what's the context here?

by dljsjr 5y ago

For those of us that don't follow Premier League Football, what's the context here?

Oligarch, one of the richest russian businessman, a close ally to Yeltsin and Putin too [0] Few days ago revealed that because of the current situation he will hand over "the stewardship and care of Chelsea FC" to a foundation, then pretty much everyone on the board stepped away [1] Then today he announced he will sell the whole club instead 0, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Abramovich#Relationship_with_Russian_leaders https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Abramovich#Relationship_... 1, https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/chelsea-foundation-trustees-report-roman-154748592.html https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/chelsea-foundation-trustees...

wartijn_ 5y ago

Roman Abramovich is a billionaire and the owner of Chelsea. The context is that he is Russian, Russia invaded Ukraine and now there are many calls to boycott Russian companies and block its oligarch from doing business outside of their home country.

biesnecker 5y ago

Chelsea FC, one of the larger clubs in the Premiership, is owned by Roman Abramovich, one of the Russian oligarchs personally named as a target of sanctions as a result of Russia invading Ukraine. Given that, and the possibility that his assets in the UK will be seized, he's selling his stake in the club. It would be like if the Dallas Cowboys were actually based in Moscow and the Russians had made it impossible for Jerry Jones to do business there and so he was selling his stake in the team.

desas 5y ago

Abramovich bought Chelsea for £140million in 2003, they were frequently trophyless but one of the top 5-6 teams. Since then he's loaned them £1.5billion and they've won the premier league and European champions league multiple times. They're the current European and Club World Cup champions. The football club don't own the football stadium or the rights to the name, they're on a ~180 year lease from the fan-owned trust. Abramovich also owns some expensive property in London. MPs have been asking questions in parliament about why he hasn't been sanctioned given his close links to Putin, he has been named in the Navalny 35 and the US CAATSA His first step was to hand over the running of the club to a charitable foundation, but then the charity commission started asking questions about it, and the directors started stepping away.

vanilla-almond 5y ago

This BBC report has a bit more context, but to summarise: - Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 for £140M - In total, Abramovich has loaned the club more than £1.5bn. - Abramovich, 55, is alleged to have strong ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he has denied. - Other Russian billionaires have already been the subject of European Union sanctions where their assets have been frozen. The United Kingdom government is yet to sanction Abramovich. - Billionaire Hansjorg Wyss had told Swiss newspaper Blick he had been offered the chance to buy the west London club. - Wyss said Abramovich wanted "to get rid of Chelsea quickly" after the threat of sanctions was raised in Parliament. Chelsea: Roman Abramovich says he plans to sell club: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60585081 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60585081

znkynz 5y ago

A Russian "oligach" who like all Putin oligachs, is a way for Putin to launder money, is in reality also a way for Putin to corrupt and influence via soft power. This Putin money launderer, purchased a London Football Club as a way to project soft russian power to corrupt London's political and business elite. He's now being effectively forced to sell it.

screye 5y ago

Chelsea means a lot more to Abramovich than just a toy. He is one of the few owners who attended most games and refused every approach to sell, despite the UK govt.'s best efforts to obstruct. He took the team from a bunch of nobodies to the most successful Premier League team over the last 20 years. He also invested a lot into future sustenance, leading to arguably the best academy in English football. He has always had shady roots, but no more than do most oligarchs. Especially ones from non-Western nations. He was well liked within the club, and disliked outside as all nouveau-riche clubs are. Had good relationships with players and came across as a fan, first as foremost. Also did a lot to remedy some of the anti-semitic history within the club. He was a major player in facilitating Putin's rise to power and reaped benefits from it. It is often said, that Chelsea was his way of owning a major western investment that Putin could not snatch away at a moment's notice. Due to hi ties with Putin, Roman has been under intense pressure to sell the club for the last 5 years. He was banned from visiting the club and his ability to inject funding was also hampered significantly. The war was the last nail in the coffin, as the sanctions are forcing him into a position where selling is the only option. Separating himself from the club saves face for the club and keeps it alive, at the expense of his ability to have any influence on it. Roman may be a less-than-honorable man out in the world, but to Chelsea fans, he was a true blue. It is a difficult dichotomy that Chelsea fans have lived with, but now is the hardest it has ever been. As far as a russian oil-tycoon(mafia?) oligarchs go, he has acted in good faith during the war and pushed vocally pushed for peace and resolution in the war. That's probably the most he can do without being shot. So, as a Chelsea fan, I'll take it.

originalvichy 5y ago
In a league in which most billionaire owners use teams as cash cows or long term investments he was different. A classic case of being the best of the worst.