Abramovich bought Chelsea on Putin’s recommendation? Little-known story. “Admission ticket”

. However, it was added that this decision does not significantly affect the functioning of the club. “Following the imposition of sanctions by the UK government, the board has removed Roman Abramowicz from the position of director of Chelsea Football Club. The board’s decision does not affect the club’s ability to train and play matches under the terms of the government-issued license that expires on May 31, 2022,” we read in the message.

took over The Blues in 2003. Everyone was surprised that he managed to buy a Premier League club playing in the capital for only $ 240 million. The Russian oligarch immediately became a fan favorite, as he spent enormous amounts of money on the players. The media wrote about his fortune, but few were ready to ask where he really got the money from.

Putin urged Abramovich to buy Chelsea. And then Russia won the world cup

This is why a purchase is considered a PR move. The Russian made his image warmer and became one of the heroes of the blue part of London. The Kremlin believed that this was the best way to gain public acceptance in the British Isles. Moreover, it turns out that one of the people who persuaded Abramovich to buy the club was the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. As Catherine Belton, a journalist revealing this fact, writes, this move was also supposed to have an impact on the awarding of the World Cup to the Russian Federation.

Thanks to the cooperation with the publishing house Sine Qua Non, we present an excerpt from the book “Putin’s People”:

In the summer of 2003, Roman Abramowicz purchased the London football club Chelsea. The amount he paid – £ 150 million, or $ 240 million – was considered a PR feat. Warsaw newspapers were delighted with Abramowicz’s private jet Boeing 767, which was used to fly to London to inspect his new purchase. Long articles were devoted to descriptions of his luxury yachts, including the world’s largest, Eclipse, a floating palace, 168 meters long, with two heliports and its own submarine. The mysterious shaggy-faced oligarch, dressed in plain jeans, enjoyed widespread recognition as he spent exorbitant sums on the world’s most famous players for Chelsea, and upgraded the Stamford Bridge stadium. Only a few asked questions about the origin of this money. “The publicity is very beneficial,” said one of Abramovich’s former associates. “Thanks to Chelsea [Roman] he can count on the last three pages of every newspaper, and at the same time no one will write anything bad about him. Nobody will ask him anything.

According to Sergei Pugachev, Putin’s Kremlin was right in assuming that the best way to gain acceptance by British society was through his greatest love, that is, the national sport. According to Sergei Pugachev, from the very beginning, the goal of purchasing the football club was to build a bridgehead of Russian influence in the United Kingdom.

“Putin asked Roman to take an interest in the ball. He decided they should have more steps in FIFA.”

“Putin personally told me about his plan to acquire Chelsea to increase Russian presence in the country and improve the country’s image, not only among the English elite but also among ordinary citizens,” the former oligarch added, referring to his meeting with Putin at a year before Abramowicz made the transaction. Another Russian financial tycoon and Abramovich’s former associate also said Putin was to ask Roman to buy the club. The deal made Abramovich a British celebrity in an instant. An invitation to a match watched from his private box became the city’s main object of desire. For himself it was instead […] an entrance ticket to the circles of the British socialite “, says the aforementioned Russian financial magnate.

Abramovich’s former associate also suggested that the oligarch’s entry into the Premier League football had another goal as well: to increase Russia’s influence in FIFA, the international football federation that later chose this country to host the 2018 World Cup. “Putin asked Roman to be interested in football,” says Abramovich’s former associate. [Prezydent] he decided that they should have gotten into what was known as a corrupt organization. “Through Chelsea, they got a ticket to the world of football,” adds the aforementioned Russian magnate. – Abramovich could have used it to lobby for the World Cup, which was very important for Moscow. They wanted to win this championship to show people that Russia is not isolated. It made a big difference to them. “

Catherine Belton’s book “Putin’s People” was released in Poland on March 9.