Roman Abramovich plans to sell Chelsea | SOLD for £4.25BN

[duffer]

If the money is going to the government and therefore the taxpayer, will they just be obliged to accept the highest offer from a “fit and proper” person? I.e. they won’t be able to take into account which buyer might be best for the club, as Abramovich might have done?

The government will only be looking after it, Father Ted style.

 

[EtH]

The government will only be looking after it, Father Ted style.

You’re in good hands.

 

[Andycoleno9]

Sorry, but didn't follow this story much so i will probably say something stupid here.
Morale story aside; so state wants that Roman forgive 1,5 billiion which he had "loaned" to Chelsea and sell club way bellow price. And he can't get even that money from sale?
Why the feck Roman accepts that?

 

[Roario]

Sorry, but didn't follow this story much so i will probably say something stupid here.
Morale story aside; so state wants that Roman forgive 1,5 billiion which he had "loaned" to Chelsea and sell club way bellow price. And he can't get even that money from sale?
Why the feck Roman accepts that?

Money from the sale will be frozen until the sanctions are removed. If and when that happens, RA can spend them as he wishes.

 

[choccy77]

According to BBC, There were between 10 & 15 bids by the deadline last night.

More bids are still expected over the weekend.

Raine Group will then consult and get it down eventually to around 5 and then submit the preferred bidder, for Government approval and eventually the PL fit and proper tests etc.

Experts say £2-3bn is way over priced because the assets and stadium size are very limited and expansion of SB very unlikely.

A couple of bids from NFL & NBA owners, would be looking to create similar model to those franchises, also similar to Glazers.

Nick Candy has 2 South Korean partners on board as part of his bid.

 

[Member 101269]

"US allies in Europe are discussing the possibility of using the assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs/elites to help fund Ukraine's war recovery efforts. Billions in assets frozen; superyachts, jets and properties seized" announced on liveuamap.com

I wonder how that sits with Chelsea's sale.

 

[WeePat]

"US allies in Europe are discussing the possibility of using the assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs/elites to help fund Ukraine's war recovery efforts. Billions in assets frozen; superyachts, jets and properties seized" announced on liveuamap.com

I wonder how that sits with Chelsea's sale.

Abramovich's assets hasn't been seized. Just frozen. He still owns everything. He just can't access them or profit from them, so I would say zero impact of Chelsea's sale.

 

[WeePat]

Reading the Athletic this morning and they're talking about how Boehly is a huge believer in direct to consumer broadcast. He'll push hard for an Amazon Prime style streaming platform for the PL.

 

[Member 101269]

Abramovich's assets hasn't been seized. Just frozen. He still owns everything. He just can't access them or profit from them, so I would say zero impact of Chelsea's sale.

So they've been sanctioned. My comment still holds.

 

[WeePat]

So they've been sanctioned. My comment still holds.

Yeah but they can't just allocate sanctioned assets to the war that are only frozen not seized. For now they're just frozen assets and he reserves the right to appeal those sanctions. Until such a time comes, all the UK government can do is hold his sanctioned assets and ensure not a penny is accessed by the sanctioned individual.

 

[WeePat]

saga

Appreciate the kudos; would also emphasise that @WeePat has been spot on in everything he's said (much more so than me, for my money).

Personally I find this whole saga to be extremely disheartening well beyond the ramifications for the football club on the pitch - I'd be lying if I said I had been somewhat blissfully ignorant of the extent of the moral depths much of our fanbase has sunk to. I'd say they should be ashamed but increasingly I question whether they have the capacity. Eye-opening, to be sure.

Appreciate the kind words mate. It's been a cesspool in here at times, but then again it is a huge fanbase with all kinds of people who hold all kinds of beliefs and who engage with football and Chelsea for all kinds reasons. We aren't a monolithic group, which is why I can appreciate where @Dancfc is coming from . Even if he doesn't always express this argument in the most clear way, I like that he's fighting that battle.

Anyway it's been a wild couple of weeks. I'm glad it's almost over and we can soon get back to just talking about Chelsea football.

 

[Orc]

Excuse my ignorance but the club staff, the players and the fans all knew of Abramovic questionable background and how he obtained his wealth much like City and Newcastle fans do but people are more than happy to fork over their cash to directly fund their clubs owners questionable behaviour as long as the dirty money brings trophies.

Chelsea fans players and staff didn’t wakeup one morning utterly shocked by Abramovic and his involvement and support of Putin.

Its a huge stretch to claim ignorance and “they didn’t know”. They did everyone did.

There isn’t a single billionaire in the world who isn’t shady as hell. I keep seeing opposition supporters who hate Chelsea all over the internet suggesting points deductions and punishments like that. A shady owner pumping billions into a club isn’t and wasn’t breaking any rules, so I’m not sure what everyone wants to “punish” the club itself for.

 

[Member 101269]

Yeah but they can't just allocate sanctioned assets to the war that are only frozen not seized. For now they're just frozen assets and he reserves the right to appeal those sanctions. Until such a time comes, all the UK government can do is hold his sanctioned assets and ensure not a penny is accessed by the sanctioned individual.

Like i posted; the US and Allies are reported as discussing it, to rule it out is putting blinkers on.

 

[arthurka]

This makes me think that the Glazers could sell Utd without any problems.

 

[Fortitude]

Chelsea are about to fall... upstairs and come out of this 'better' than where they started before the war?

 

[WeePat]

Chelsea are about to fall... upstairs and come out of this 'better' than where they started before the war?

We won't get a more generous owner than Abramovich, so I don't know if we'll be better in terms of the continous investment in the team, but we could land in a better situation in terms of stability and organic growth.

 

[duffer]

Chelsea are about to fall... upstairs and come out of this 'better' than where they started before the war?

Fingers crossed but who knows.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Chelsea will be fine. All this talk of their demise is knee jerk.

 

[Dancfc]

We won't get a more generous owners than Abramovich, so I don't know if we'll be better in terms of the continous investment in the team, but we could land in a better situation in terms of stability and organic growth.

Ironically we've finally got a bit of managerial stability at the best possible time.

I think Jose, Conte and even Lampard during this period would have been an absolute disaster.

 

[Fortitude]

We won't get a more generous owners than Abramovich, so I don't know if we'll be better in terms of the continous investment in the team, but we could land in a better situation in terms of stability and organic growth.

If you get Saudi's, of course you will. That'll be an arms race across yourselves, Newcastle and City.

They're not in sports to do anything but win via massive vanity projects that may also be seen as sportswashing opportunities.

Just think it's quite something you can come out of this in a 'better' place than you initially started at.

 

[WeePat]

This is the Lord Coe/Broughton group. Both Chelsea fans. It does sound a bit too good to be true. Feels like an election where we have to choose between which PR campaign convinces us the most, without the actual voting.

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[duffer]

This is the Lord Coe/Broughton group. Both Chelsea fans. It does sound a bit too good to be true. Feels like an election where we have to choose between which PR campaign convinces us the most, without the actual voting.

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There's a lot of bluffers in the mix and I reckon this lot are amongst them. Saying the right things but all fluff.

 

[WeePat]

Ironically we've finally got a bit of managerial stability at the best possible time.

I think Jose, Conte and even Lampard during this period would have been an absolute disaster.

Yeah I never thought we'd ever get a manager who could come anywhere close to the kind of feelings Mourinho 1.0 invoked in me and many others, but Tuchel is there and for many has surpassed Mourinho as their favourite ever Chelsea manager. He's been such a god send for this club.

 

[WeePat]

If you get Saudi's, of course you will. That'll be an arms race across yourselves, Newcastle and City.

They're not in sports to do anything but win via massive vanity projects that may also be seen as sportswashing opportunities.

Just think it's quite something you can come out of this in a 'better' place than you initially started at.

Yeah the Saudis. Sorry I've almost written them out of my mind because I'm genuinely hoping it isn't them. They would be the only group would keep up or even ramp up Abramovich's spending.

 

[WeePat]

There's a lot of bluffers in the mix and I reckon this lot are amongst them. Saying the right things but all fluff.

They're all saying one or another version of the same thing. Rebuild the stadium, include fans, build commercial revenue, continue investing to keep the team at the top etc.

 

[Flying high]

According to BBC, There were between 10 & 15 bids by the deadline last night.

More bids are still expected over the weekend.

Raine Group will then consult and get it down eventually to around 5 and then submit the preferred bidder, for Government approval and eventually the PL fit and proper tests etc.

Experts say £2-3bn is way over priced because the assets and stadium size are very limited and expansion of SB very unlikely.

A couple of bids from NFL & NBA owners, would be looking to create similar model to those franchises, also similar to Glazers.

Nick Candy has 2 South Korean partners on board as part of his bid.

Who'd have thought there were so many billionaires waiting for the sales to start.

It's almost like they know the value will shoot up again with a more secure future.

I bet the tory party treasurer has a semi right now. So many palms to be greased.

 

[facchiano]

I think now would be the best time to introduce the Bundesliga model of fan ownership.

 

[Ibn Battuta]

There's a lot of bluffers in the mix and I reckon this lot are amongst them. Saying the right things but all fluff.

They are really saying nothing at all here. Point one and two are bare minimum efforts. Invest in the club to keep at tops? Of course, why would you invest to keep at mid-table? Point three they have no say in.

Point 4 is the only one if any substance. But even there it is very pink skies at this stage.

 

[Bluelion7]

I don’t know if he really means everything he’s saying, but I REALLY like everything I’m hearing from Candy.
Some of those rumors about how assets would be used probably comes from the fact people had questions, like: “If the guy you kicked set up a group to give the assets of the club sale to Ukraine… is it really a good look to put those funds in a UK governmental operating account instead?”
The answer is obviously no.

 

[Infra-red]

There's a lot of bluffers in the mix and I reckon this lot are amongst them. Saying the right things but all fluff.

How many if these 15 consortiums intend to finance their bids with debt?

That would be my worry if United were ever put up for sale - that the new owners would simply borrow the bulk of the money and leave the club paying the interest charges (Glazers mkII).

 

[duffer]

How many if these 15 consortiums intend to finance their bids with debt?

That would be my worry if United were ever put up for sale - that the new owners would simply borrow the bulk of the money and leave the club paying the interest charges (Glazers mkII).

Probably a fair few I would think.

Beggars can't really be choosers as my nan would say.

The Glaziers have been kinda parasites but they're nowhere near the worst when it comes to owners (thinking of the Oystens at Blackpool).

I'd rather have a cynical owner only interested in profits who keeps us near the top than a clueless chump who runs it into the ground chasing glory.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

How many if these 15 consortiums intend to finance their bids with debt?

That would be my worry if United were ever put up for sale - that the new owners would simply borrow the bulk of the money and leave the club paying the interest charges (Glazers mkII).

The difference is that Chelsea have the government approving this, so I'd doubt they'll be ok with a heavily debt laden bid, over one that it isn't, even if the debt bid was higher. United will never be allowed this luxury.

The upside of been financed with dirty money doesn't really have a downside for the clubs involved as far a I can see, even when it goes wrong.

 

[cyberman]

The difference is that Chelsea have the government approving this, so I'd doubt they'll be ok with a heavily debt laden bid, over one that it isn't, even if the debt bid was higher. United will never be allowed this luxury.

The upside of been financed with dirty money doesn't really have a downside for the clubs involved as far a I can see, even when it goes wrong.

This his how big business works. All takeovers of this magnitude are financed, the government won’t see a problem with it. If anything it’ll be their friendly financial institutions that will see the benefit

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

This his how big business works. All takeovers of this magnitude are financed, the government won’t see a problem with it. If anything it’ll be their friendly financial institutions that will see the benefit

Well lets see, I very much doubt anything like the Glazer's magnitude of debt would be considered, no matter how high the bid was, because they know how detrimental it would be.

 

[Mb194dc]

Chelsea will be fine. All this talk of their demise is knee jerk.

Depends on who buys us, how they manage us and how much money they are prepared to put in every year.

No football club is much of a business from an earnings perspective, it's pretty much impossible to make money and be successful on the pitch. So we'll see what Raine group come up with from all the bids.

 

[ExoduS]

This Roman thing doesn't make sense to me at all. So his money and him were all clean until Putin invaded Ukraine? How does that make sense? Basically he would be just fine with his dirty money as long as Putin doesn't invade a country "too much", because Ukraine was partially invaded since Crimea got taken over.
I am not even sure what I am trying to say. I guess what I am saying is that his money is either dirty or not, and if it is dirty that means everything Chelsea accomplished since he got into the club is also dirty thus all their titles and accomplishments under Roman should be revoked.

 

[CraftySoAndSo]

Ooh now i'm intrigued.

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[Bluelion7]

Like i posted; the US and Allies are reported as discussing it, to rule it out is putting blinkers on.

So …. Here’s the thing. The lead U.S. prosecutors just said “ you cannot just walk up and take somebody’s yacht. You have to walk through the facts and trace that property to a crime. You have to describe not only the specific crime committed with due process and probable cause, you also gave trace the property itself to a condition of that crime.”
So… with an Oleg Deripaska, who, say, broke campaign finance laws to get a 250 million silver mine in Kentucky… pretty seizable.
Roman has actually been to international court MANY times in regards to his obtaining and selling sibneft. These were exhaustive cases and he won all of them. The asset in dispute is anything derived from Evraz. If your moron mayor Sadiq Khan did some homework, he would know the best forensic accountants in the world AND intelligence organizations have looked into whether Chelsea was/could being used as a money laundering tool. And the answer was a resounding “Nope.”
Hence, legally, there is zero justification for doing anything with the asset aside from freezing Roman out of control of the club so he personally can’t profit. And since he’s not even trying to, forgave the debt, and wanted the proceeds to go to aid. That seems pretty simple.

The funnier (but not funny) conversations going on right now look more like this:

United States: Your actions against Evraz were haphazard and extreme

UK: They we’re making tank armor for Russia.

United States: well … no, actually the only divisions of Evraz that can make armor grade are in our country. They make AMERICAN tanks…

UK: well, they could “potentially” make armor for their tanks.

US: well….No. facilities can’t just suddenly turn around and produce a different product like that. Those facilities would be in Russia anyway. You could simply freeze out any funds from the global entity from going to those divisions.

UK: Chelsea needs to die we dont care how it happens.

US: ……all of this is about ….a sports team? Go sit in the corner. You are cut off from anything that involves thinking from here on.

 

[Fortitude]

Yeah the Saudis. Sorry I've almost written them out of my mind because I'm genuinely hoping it isn't them. They would be the only group would keep up or even ramp up Abramovich's spending.

Out of the frying pan into the fire, as it were. 'Better' obviously coming with a sense of perspective; horrid from a moral standpoint. Can wholly understand your consternation.

 

[DavidDeSchmikes]

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