Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich, has handed over control of Chelsea to trustees of its charitable foundation on Saturday, as Premier League showed their support for war-torn Ukraine.
Roman Abramovich who bought Premier League club Chelsea in 2003, said in a statement,
“I have always taken decisions with the club’s best interest at heart and I remain committed to these values. That’s why I am today giving trustees of Chelsea’s charitable foundation the stewardship and care of Chelsea FC.”
It’s reported that Abramovich is still the owner of the club and is not looking to sell the European champions. It is understood Abramovich took this decision to protect Chelsea from reputational damages as war rages in Ukraine. The UK government on Friday ordered all assets of the Russian President and his foreign Mister Sergei Lavrov frozen over the invasion of Ukraine.
The treasury issued financial sanctions notices against the two men, adding them to the list of Russian oligarchs who have already had their property and banks account in the UK frozen. Abramovich, whose team played Liverpool in the League Cup final yesterday, was not on the list.
The Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich, is worth nearly $14 billion according to Forbes. He is ranked 142nd on the 2021 list of the globe’s billionaires.
Report by: Jeffrey Addy