Roman Abramovich has confirmed his intention to sell Chelsea.
ESPN reported earlier on Wednesday that the 55-year-old was ready to listen to the club's offers, and Abramovich confirmed the plans in a statement released later in the day on the Blues' website.
"I would like to address the speculation in the media over the past few days regarding my ownership of Chelsea FC," it read. "As I have said before, I have always made decisions with the best interest of the club in mind.
"In the current situation, I have made the decision to sell the club because I believe it is in the best interest of the club, fans, employees, as well as the club's sponsors and partners.
"The sale of the club will not happen fast, but will follow due process. I will not ask for any debt to be repaid. It is never about business or money for me, but pure passion for the sport and the club." is about."
Abramovich is under pressure to sell because if the U.K. He will not be able to put any funds into the club, and any sale will be extremely complicated.
Sources told ESPN that Abramovich is seeking around £3 billion ($2.24 billion) for the Blues, but his ability to negotiate has been severely hampered by the time of his decision, apparently forfeiting the assets of High. The UK government is under increasing pressure to do so. -Give importance to Russian persons belonging to the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin after the country's invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich has always denied any ties with Putin, but Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer publicly called on the government to ban the Chelsea boss at Wednesday's session of the prime minister's questions.
"He is a person of interest for the Home Office because of his ties to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices," Starmer said. "Last week [U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson] said Abramovich was facing sanctions. He later corrected the record by saying he's not. Well, why on earth isn't he?"
Johnson responded: "It is not appropriate for me to comment on personal matters at this stage."
Abramovich originally tried to avoid a sell-off by announcing on Saturday evening that he was transferring the "caretaker and care" of the club to Chelsea for the trustees on Saturday.
However, sources told ESPN that the trustees were seeking legal advice before responding to Abramovich's directive because of growing concerns that a charitable foundation is not a suitable entity to run a football club, and it appears that the move may have affected the elite. Did not achieve class separation degree. Expected.
Sources have told ESPN that US firm Rhine Group has been appointed to manage the sale, and interested parties include Los Angeles Dodgers owner Todd Boehley, who expressed interest in buying the Premier League club in 2019. He negotiated with the Blues and Tottenham, but was unsuccessful. To find an agreement with any owner. Swiss business tycoon Hansjörg Weiss has said Abramovich contacted interested parties on Tuesday for possible interest.
"Abramovic is currently trying to sell all his villas in England. He also now wants to get rid of Chelsea quickly. I, along with three others, received an offer from Abramovich on Tuesday to buy Chelsea," the Swiss said. As quoted by the newspaper Blick as saying in an interview published on Wednesday.
Abramovich announced his intention to donate the profits of any sale – he bought the club for £140m in 2003 and is owed £1.514bn in loans to victims of the Ukraine conflict. “In addition, I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated,” Abramovich continued in the statement. “The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine. This includes providing vital funds for the immediate and immediate needs of the victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery.
"Please know that this has been an incredibly difficult decision, and it pains me to part with the club in this way. However, I believe it is in the best interest of the club."
“I hope to be able to visit Stamford Bridge one last time to say goodbye to you all personally. It has been a lifetime privilege to be part of Chelsea FC and I am proud of all my combined achievements. Chelsea Football Club and His supporters will always be in my heart."
Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe held preliminary talks with Abramovich over a potential buyout from 2021, according to a Forbes study.
Ratcliffe's brother Bob, who runs the football division of his company INEOS, told BBC Radio 5Live last month that "we had a significant way of evaluating addition."
Another difficult element for a potential buyer is the difficulty in renovating Stamford Bridge. Complex plans to redevelop the 41,800-seat stadium - which included demolishing the existing structure and rebuilding the 61,000-capacity venue - were shelved by Abramovich in 2018 around the time his UK investor visa expired. The freehold of the site is with the Chelsea pitch owners and will therefore not be included in any sale of the club.