EXPLAINER: What sanctions mean for Roman Abramovich, Chelsea
LONDON (AP) — The decision to sanction Roman Abramovich and freeze his assets has left Chelsea to continue playing only with the approval of the British government under special conditions.
The 55-year-old Abramovich is among seven wealthy Russians punished by Boris Johnson's administration on Thursday over their close links to the Kremlin, with Russia's war on Ukraine into a third week.
HOW IMPORTANT IS ABRAMOVICH TO CHELSEA?
Abramovich transformed Chelsea after stunning English football in 2003 by launching the most expensive takeover of an English club.
“I just saw this incredible game and that I wanted to be a part of that in one way or another,” Abramovich said in a rare interview with Forbes last year.
The flow of investment — before European football introduced Financial Fair Play spending control rules — quickly allowed an upgrade of the squad that produced a first English championship title in 55 years in 2005.
Abramovich was the first of the mega-rich owners to enter English football, starting a trend that has continued with Manchester City benefiting from Abu Dhabi investment since 2008 and Newcastle tapping into Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund since last year.
Chelsea has won five Premier League titles under Abramovich along with two Champions League titles, the latest last year. Victory in the Club World Cup last month completed the set of major honors.
The success has been funded by around 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion) of loans to the club that Abramovich said he didn't want repaid when putting the club up for sale last week.
WHY SANCTION ABRAMOVICH?
Abramovich has used legal means to try to publicly distance himself from benefiting from an association with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The British government thinks otherwise, saying...
