Sunday brought conflicting reports about Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich and his future intentions with his club. Just a half hour ago, The Telegraph posted a story claiming the Russian Oligarch is looking to sell the west London club for £2 billion, which would utterly smash the world record.
The story cites the Sunday Times, who report that Chelsea have brought in “Joe Ravitch from the Raine Group…The same specialist US investment bank helped Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi ownership sell a 13% stake to Chinese investors in 2015. ”
It was widely reported in June that the world’s 138th richest man has already rejected a £2 billion offer to the club.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the wealthiest man in Great Britain, reportedly made the offer, but saw it refused.
Chelsea football club maintain that Abramovich is not interested in selling, and numerous media outlets claim sources within the club that reaffirm this. The Guardian also cites the Times report, and points out that Abramovich turned down an offer to sell a minority stake in the club from Silver Lake Partners, an American private equity firm.
Meanwhile ESPN claim that Abramovich is just as committed to the club as ever, with no intentions to offload it. The speculation that Roman Abramovich wants out of this specific investment in his wide ranging portfolio has been largely driven by
1.) his failure to extend his UK visa and thus his legal inability to enter the country where CFC is located and
2.) the delay in the Stamford Bridge redevelopment and augmentation project.
Typically, when there are some level of conflicting reports like what we’re seeing and hearing in this narrative, it means that we should expect a few more plot twists and turns before we see closure on this. Getting the word out publicly that “we’re not interested in selling,” can sometimes be a bold negotiating tactic for those looking to drive up the price of an investment they which to offload.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud and YouTube. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to any and all of his.