The possibility that Roman Abramovich ceases to be owner of Chelsea is increasing. Adding to the problems the Russian oligarch faces with the UK has been the declared intention of a Swiss billionaire to take over the club if Abramovich twists his arm and sells the club.
Hansjörg Wyss, who has a fortune of more than 4,800 million euros, has offered to negotiate for the Stamford Bridge club in what could signal a complete change of course for the European champions.
“Abramovich is trying to sell his assets in England and he also wants to get rid of Chelsea quickly,” Wyss told the Swiss newspaper Blick. “On Tuesday, three people and I received an offer to buy the club. Now I have to wait four or five days. Abramovich asks too much and, as you know, Chelsea owes him €2.4 billion or so, but they don’t have the money to pay him”.
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The Swiss is referring to the more than 1,800 million that Abramovich has lent to Chelsea since he bought it for less than 120 million euros in 2003. Since his arrival, being one of the first billionaires to land in European football, Chelsea It has gone from being one more team from the noble part of England to one of the greats of the continent, with 18 titles under its mandate, including two Champions.
But Russia’s war in Ukraine has disrupted a leadership that came full circle a few weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, with the conquest of the Club World Cup. The last title that was missing in the honors of Abramovich and the club.
His complicated situation in the United Kingdom, which did not renew his investor visa in 2018, has intensified in recent days as a result of his close and always denied relationship with Vladimir Putin. From the House of Commons, Abramovich has been accused of being a close collaborator of Putin and has been asked to seize the assets he owns in the United Kingdom, such as the mansion of more than 180 million euros in central London. , and not be allowed to run a club like Chelsea.
Deputy Chris Bryant warned on Tuesday that the oligarch Abramovich is beginning to look for buyers for his assets and that he must act quickly in terms of sanctions. Wyss’s words only confirm this.
“I can imagine running Chelsea together with some partners, but I have to look at the general conditions first. What I am certainly not going to do is get into something like this alone. If I buy Chelsea, it will be with a consortium of six or seven investors. Wyss said.
Abramovich’s decision to leave the administration in the hands of the club’s foundation, which has doubts about this move, is yet another indication of the growing distance with which the Russian views the club he has managed in the last fourteen years.
Wyss, 86, made his fortune at the medical multinational Synthes and has been characterized in recent years by his large donations to charities and the environment. As reported by the New York Times in 2018, his contribution to works in favor of the environment rises above 1,000 million euros.