After Russia’s invasion of Ukrainian territory, a number of Russian billionaires and tycoons are getting into trouble for their association with Vladimir Putin’s government. One of them is Roman Abramovich, known for owning Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in England that is now starting to suffer on account of its owner.
In recent days, a series of sanctions fell on the tycoon, which ended up directly affecting the club. To get Chelsea out of this mess, Abramovich plans to sell the team he has owned for more than 20 years. However, even though he tries to make the operation happen as quickly as possible, the situation seems to get more and more complicated.
Chelsea’s main sponsor was Three, the UK’s leading mobile phone company. After sanctions from the English government, the brand decided to suspend the contract and re-offend with the club, taking a good part of the company’s capital in an ambitious contract that had been signed in 2019.
Three was not the only one to leave the English club. Automaker Hyundai also thought it best to suspend its contract with the team after the latest developments. The South Korean company said that the measure will take place until further notice, in addition to stating that it is “proud supporter of players, fans and root football“.
Chelsea’s partnership with Hyundai dates back to 2018. The automaker was the official supplier of the club’s means of transport. The multi-million-dollar deal was worth around £10 million per season. Converting this amount into Brazilian currency, it is something close to 66 million reais.
The team’s coach, Thomas Tuchel, even said that not even the lack of transport would be a problem for him. The team has an important game against LOSC Lille for the Champions League. The match will take place at the rival club’s home, in France, and many wondered if the crisis would be a problem for the trip.
In the words of the Chelsea manager:
“My last bit of information is that we’re taking a plane. So we can go by plane and come back by plane. If not, let’s go by train. If not, we’ll take the bus. If not, I’ll go by car, a seven-seater. Honestly, I’m going to do this. You can save my words: I will be there”, replied the German.
Even so, not all of the club’s partner companies are going back on the agreements signed. After the measures by Three and Hyundai, Nike and Trivago said they will continue to support the English team. The contract for the American tennis brand is one of the longest lasting, having a term of 15 years with values that are around 900 million pounds.
The whole crisis has sparked a warning sign within the club’s management, which is trying to plan how it will pay off debts that are still outstanding, such as that of Lukaku, one of the most recent signings made for the attack. Tuchel, the coach, said that questions about sanctions will not be a problem for his stay at the club and that the contracts will be respected. However, the other players have high salaries to receive.
So far, negotiations for the purchase of the club continue to take place. According to rumours, the most recent offer was from the Saudi group “Saudi Media Group”, which made a £2.7bn bid for Chelsea. According to the American broadcaster CBS Sports, the initiative would be led by Mohamed Alkhereiji, director of the media group and a fanatical supporter of the London team.
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