The Russian oligarch promised not to spend any more money on them.
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich said in an interview with Nick Purell, author of the book “Under Sanctions: The Inside Story of the Chelsea Sale,” that he no longer plans to buy soccer clubs. In May 2022, he sold Chelsea to a consortium of US businessman Todd Boehly for £4.25bn as he came under EU and UK sanctions.
“Perhaps I could do something for academies and youth development, giving more opportunities to people from disadvantaged backgrounds, if there was an initiative that could make a difference. But as far as owning a club or being a professional team player is concerned, I’m done with that,” English newspaper Daily Mail quoted an excerpt from the book. In response to accusations against him by the British authorities, Abramovich recalled the Russian proverb “Dogs bark, the caravan goes on.”
Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003. In 19 years, the team has won 21 trophies, including five times champion of England, as well as two-time winners of the Champions League and Europa League. When Abramovich announced the sale of the club, he took the initiative to create a charitable foundation that would work “for the benefit of all victims” of the armed conflict in Ukraine. The British authorities allocated 200,000 pounds for legal and administrative costs to set up the foundation. However, they failed to reach a final agreement on the transfer of the entire amount.
In June 2025, Bloomberg reported that the UK government intends to sue Abramovich in order to secure the transfer of 2.34 billion pounds, proceeds from the sale of Chelsea. The authorities want to use these funds to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine.