The sanction imposed by the British Government on Roman Abramovich -it has frozen his assets due to the “close relationship” he has maintained with the Russian regime for decades- will not allow Chelsea to fill their stadiumneither sell or buy playersnor renew soccer players like Antonio Rüdiger, nor complete the sale of the club one of the ten tycoons who were stalking him.
The rush that the Russian Roman Abramovich had to get rid of the club was not an exaggeration. The UK has frozen his assets and prevents him from doing business with citizens of the country. What does this imply? That Chelsea will not be able to collect benefits from any transaction.
The most important operation that remains in limbo is the sale of the club and through which the immediate future of the team passes. Abramovich had set a March 15 deadline for fear of sanctions, but hasn’t had time to find a suitable buyer.
Several American consortiums, owners of NFL teams, a Turkish billionaire, a Saudi consortium and a British real estate developer are now waiting for the Government to give Chelsea special permission to go ahead with the sale. This, for now, are just rumors in the English press, which suggests that the Government could allow it for “the best interest” for the club.
In the event that this happens, Abramovich will not receive any benefit from the sale of the club, although the Russian tycoon has already warned that any money he received for it would go to the victims of the war in Ukraine.
For now, Chelsea has been awarded a “special licence” so that it can continue to operate on a day-to-day basis. This way you can pay the salaries of all your employees, including players and coaches.
They will also be able to dedicate 20,000 pounds (23,800 euros) for each game they play away from home, for travel and accommodation. In home matches, the spending limit is raised to 500,000 pounds (595,000 euros) and fans will be able to buy food and drink in the stadium facilities.
Another blow to Chelsea’s finances comes at the stadium: they will not be able to sell tickets for matches from this March 10.
This has a direct impact on the budget of the ‘Blues’ because, if Stamford Bridge is already one of the stadiums of the greats that collects the least, because it has a capacity of only 44,000 seats, now only members will be able to go to the meetings. The figures are not public, but it is estimated that the Fulham club has between 28,000 and 30,000 members. The club shop, near Stamford Bridge, is closed immediately.
Chelsea will continue to receive money from the television broadcasts of their matches, but this will go to a fund to continue paying the salaries of the employees.
In sports, there is great uncertainty regarding the squad for next season. If nothing changes Chelsea could not undertake the renovations of Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen, whose salary should be improved, something that is not possible with the current restrictions.
The doubt of César Azpilicueta remains, although in the case of the Spanish player there is a clause in his contract that, after consulting the Navarrese, would be renewed automatically. It is not yet known whether this would be possible under current conditions.
The situation of not being able to sell or buy players is not new, since he already suffered a FIFA sanction in 2019 and that helped him develop footballers like Mason Mount and Reece James. Now the situation is much more serious.
