The stars of the big club are forced to give up the use of charter flights and luxury hotels.
Chelsea Football Club is in trouble. It is not illustrated by Thursday’s victory over Norwich or third place in the league table, but the news from the owner on Thursday.
Roman Abramovichthe owner of the London Powers Association, funds were frozen in Britain.
The reasons and justifications were clear. The Russian oligarch is pro-Kremlin, and he has not covered up close ties with the Russian president Vladimir Putin. Chelsea is paying a heavy price for it.
With the decision of the British government, Abramovich will not be able to sell the club forward. Chelsea may not make a financial profit, enter into contracts, or sell and buy players, loose tickets, or even its official fan products.
Roman Abramovich is not allowed to earn a penny from selling Chelsea. AOP
Sure, Chelsea’s men and women are allowed to continue their games, and season card holders get into the matches, but the sanctions make the daily life of a Premier League team completely different.
The Athleticin the article states that with Thursday’s decision, Chelsea will not exceed a budget of £ 20,000 (approximately € 24,000) on its guest gaming trips.
Next week, Chelsea will travel to France to visit Lille for the second quarter-finals of the Champions League. The flights and hotels for the trip have already been paid for in advance, so the team will still be able to make that trip as planned.
Then the problems begin. Chelsea won the opening 2-0 and if it advanced, it would have to travel to the other side of Europe by bus or train.
It is really difficult to cover all the costs with EUR 20 000. You can’t even dream of charter flights or luxury hotels.
The Sun. reports that as early as next summer, Chelsea is even threatened with bankruptcy.
Abramovich is left empty-handed
The doors of Chelsea’s official fan shop closed on Thursday. EPA / AOP
According to Chelsea’s latest financial statements, the club made a loss of £ 145.6 million (approximately € 173 million) between 2020 and 2021.
As early as Thursday, Chelsea’s shirt sponsor Three announced it would suspend the deal for the duration of Abramovich’s sanctions. The Sun estimates that Chelsea can expect a loss of nearly £ 100m in revenue for the rest of the season alone.
By May 31, solutions must be made to Chelsea’s ownership ladder.
According to The Athletic, the prime minister Boris Johnson a spokesman said the government was still in favor of selling the club, but a new waiver would be needed to make it happen, blessed by the British Treasury.
In other words – the club can be saved if Abramovich sells the club to a new owner. However, the oligarchs themselves do not benefit from the trade in any way.