After three months of uncertainty, Chelsea’s future has now become clearer, with the club confirming a “definitive agreement” to sell to the Boehly-Clearlake Consortium. The deal is set to complete on Monday, drawing to an end Roman Abramovich’s 19 years as owner. Safe to say, we never expected the end of the Roman Era to arrive in such a fashion.
Abramovich has transformed the club from a good team with aspirations to a great team with never-ceasing ambition, spending over a billion pounds since 2003 in pursuit of 21 trophies — completing the set with the Club World Cup earlier this year. It wasn’t always smooth sailing and it wasn’t always perfect, but throughout it all, the one thing we could never question was his love for the club.
And that commitment has remained to the end, with his last statement as Chelsea owner revealing his confidence in having found the next best custodians for the club.
“It has been nearly three months since I announced my intention to sell Chelsea FC. During this time, the team have worked hard to find the right custodian for Chelsea FC that would be best positioned to successfully lead the Club into its next chapter.
“The ownership of this Club comes with great responsibility. Since I came to Chelsea nearly twenty years ago, I have witnessed first-hand what this Club can achieve. My goal has been to ensure that the next owner has a mindset that will enable success for the Men’s and Women’s team, as well as the will and drive to continue developing other key aspects of the Club, such as the Academy and the vital work of Chelsea Foundation.
“I am pleased this search has now come to a successful conclusion. As I hand over Chelsea to its new custodians, I would like to wish them the best of success, both on and off the pitch.”
That said, we have no idea what the future will look like without Abramovich, though we can at least look back on all the great things we were able to achieve, as well as the good that will be done with the billions raised from the sale, which are slated to be donated to a war relief charity.
It has been an honour of a lifetime to be a part of this Club – I would like to thank all the Club’s past and current players, staff, and of course fans for these incredible years.
I am proud that as a result of our joint successes, millions of people will now benefit from the new charitable foundation which is being established. This is the legacy which we have created together.
Thank you.
Roman
-source: Chelsea FC
Statement from Roman Abramovich.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 28, 2022
