Chelsea Could Be Forced Into Administration Over Roman Abramovich's Refusal To Sell To Certain Buyers
Chelsea could yet be plunged into financial issues by Roman Abramovich, with the Russian ready to be fussy about who buys the club.
Abramovich has been officially looking to sell the club, who he bought in 2003, for the past few weeks, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The billionaire has since been put under sanctions from the UK government, meaning their fans can't even buy tickets to games or merchandise, but the club is still for sale.
Advert
Abramovich hired The Raine Group to help sell the club and, despite the sanctions, is set to have a say in who can buy the club, and that's where the issues could be.
According to the Daily Mail, the 55-year-old could veto any bids that come from countries that have sanctioned Russia in the past few weeks.
If he did that it would mean that he refused to sell to any British or American bids, or even from the EU, leaving minimal potential buyers left.
If Abramovich can't find a seller soon then there is a chance of the club going into administration, with them not currently being able to make money, and the owner's accounts having been frozen, whilst players still need to be paid.
The problems are added to by the fact that the UK government, and particularly Chancellor Rishi Sunak, are overseeing the sale of the Blues.
That will be to make sure that Abramovich isn't actually benefiting from the sale, but it could also mean that certain other buyers are ruled out.
Sunak could be reticent to sell to any bidders from Saudi Arabia, especially with the Premier League considering making human rights a part of their fit and proper persons test for new owners.
They would have to be careful denying any Saudi bid, considering that Newcastle United were only recently bought by the country's Public Investment Fund and Prime Minister Boris Johnson was asked to intervene to help with that sale, though his part is unknown.
Considering the PM also visited the country earlier in the week, as part of a mission for the UK to rely less on oil and gas from Russia, it could be tough for the government to get involved.
It was reported several weeks ago that Abramovich could also refuse to sell to potential buyers from 'politically controversial' countries, as he wants to leave the Blues in good hands following his successful 19 years at the helm.
John Terry has joined one of the consortiums attempting to take over at Stamford Bridge, and he seems like one British person Abramovich wouldn't refuse to sell to.
The club's future very much remains shrouded in mystery right now and it remains anyone's guess who will be the next owners.
Topics: Chelsea, Premier League
Ryan Sidle