“It hurts me to part with the club”: Roman Abramovich confirmed his intention to sell Chelsea

Roman Abramovich, who has owned Chelsea since 2003, has officially put the football club up for sale. According to The New York Times, he will donate all the net proceeds from the sale to a fund “for the benefit of all victims” of the military operation in Ukraine.

The Russian oligarch has set a March 4 deadline for interested parties, by which date buyers must submit “rough proposals” for the club he has owned for almost two decades. It is assumed that this amount will be at least $2.5 billion.

“I want to respond to the recent media speculation. As I said, I have always made decisions based on the interests of the club. Therefore, in the current situation, I decided to sell it, as I believe that this is in the interests of fans, employees, as well as sponsors and partners. Please know it was an incredibly difficult decision and it pains me to leave Chelsea in this way. I hope I can visit Stamford Bridge for the last time to say goodbye to all of you in person,” Abramovich said.

Among the potential buyers, according to the publication, is Hansjorg Wyss, a Swiss billionaire known for his support of progressive ideas. He told the Blick newspaper that he was among four people who received an offer to buy Chelsea on 1 March. Wyss stressed that he was not ready to buy the club alone, but would rather be part of a consortium of “six or seven investors”.

Earlier it was reported that Roman Abramovich was offered to sell the Chelsea football club, which is estimated at 1.9 billion euros. Appropriate proposals come from both sports investors and private investment companies. The proposed deal could be the largest in the history of European football.

Meanwhile, this deal may not take place if London imposes the promised sanctions on Roman Abramovich, as well as on other wealthy Russians.