Express reports that Roman Abramovich is considering selling Chelsea as he hasn’t been in the country since spring.
The owner of the Blues has had visa issues with the UK Government, preventing him from not being able to work in the region.
Mark Galeotti, a Russia expert, was speaking to Bloomberg (h/t Express) and believed Abramovich is looking to shift back to Russia even though he has an Israeli passport.
The Express quoted the expert as saying:
“Abramovich spent money to buy himself a certain entree or cachet into British society, but some of the social expectations about being big in British football have not quite played out.
“He’s high-profile and Kremlin-connected enough to be a useful poster child for this new campaign against Putin. He may decide it’s not worth it to stay.”
The report further claimed that the Russian owner had rejected offers worth £1.8bn earlier in the year. He is looking to get £2.28bn for the Blues.
Express further adds that British authorities are trying to get to Vladimir Putin by putting pressure on Abramovich, who is known to be close to the Russian president. Chelsea have stalled their plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge, which was set to cost £1bn.
The Blues have made a great start to the season but stories regarding the club’s future will be a distraction to the team.
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Hopefully, Sarri can continue doing the good work and we get to celebrate a decent campaign with a return to the Champions League.