Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich made a significant move last week when he handed off ownership of the club to its charitable foundation and trustees after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But with the pressure ramping up amid the ongoing war and a possible personal sanction on the way, Abramovich is now considering selling Chelsea, according to ESPN's James Olley.
The U.K. government is currently facing pressure to sanction wealthy Russians with alleged links to president Vladimir Putin. While Abramovich has steadfastly denied any such links, there's still a possibility the U.K. government could sanction Abramovich, who currently has a net worth of $12.6 billion, per Forbes.
If Abramovich were to be sanctioned, Chelsea would be frozen due to it being one of his assets. In that case, he couldn't sell the club or pump any funds into it.
Abramovich was a subject of conversation on Wednesday in the U.K. government:
Article Continues BelowAt Wednesday's session of Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, the opposition party leader, Labour's Sir Keir Starmer, opened by calling for sanctions against the Chelsea owner.
“Roman Abramovich is the owner of Chelsea Football Club and various other high-value assets in the United Kingdom,” Starmer said.
“He is a person of interest to the Home Office because of his links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices. Last week he [U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson] said Abramovich was facing sanctions. He later corrected the record to say he isn't. Well, why on Earth isn't he?”
Johnson replied: “It is not appropriate for me to comment on individual cases at this stage.”
Swiss businessman Hansjoerg Wyss claimed this week that Abramovich is trying to get rid of Chelsea and is putting out offers for the club, but that he's currently looking for too much.
As Abramovich looks to sell, the Chelsea “trustees are seeking legal advice before responding to Abramovich's instruction due to concerns that a charitable foundation is not a suitable entity to run a football club.”