Leaving Chelsea, Abramovich leaves money, legacy of victories and coaches crushed

The Roman Abramovich era at Chelsea appears to be coming to an end. The Russian billionaire, pressured by possible sanctions against him and the club over his involvement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced that he had put the English club up for sale.

Since buying Chelsea in 2003 for £140m, Abramovich has been the main financier of the football and power project he has carried out with the London team.

While the sale process has not yet been completed, Abramovich is the sole shareholder of Fordstam Limited, the company that controls Chelsea FC PLC, which in turn owns Chelsea Football Club (the club).

Through loans, the businessman injected, according to ESPN, just over 1.5 billion pounds (R$ 10 billion) of his own fortune to give the financial support that allowed the team to fight for the most important titles in football. English and European in the last 20 years. In other words, a loan for yourself.

Fundamental money not only for building stellar squads and raising Chelsea to the status of a superclub, but also for Londoners to be able to go through some of the most difficult periods of financial difficulty, as was the case with the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the season that ended on June 30, 2021, in which they won the Champions League cup, the club reported a loss of 145.6 million pounds (about R$ 994 million) in the period, after taxes.

This did not deprive him of keeping the team reinforced and shelling out 97.5 million pounds (R$ 666 million) to sign Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku for the current season. Lukaku, 28, was hired in 2011 by Chelsea himself, but he was not put to good use and, between one loan and another to different clubs, he chose to transfer (to Everton) in 2014.

Almost a decade later, he is back in London as the most expensive signing in Chelsea’s history. In addition to the Belgian, Abramovich can boast of having made the most expensive deal for a goalkeeper. In 2018, he signed Spaniard Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao for £71m, a record that has yet to be beaten by players in the position.

Even with all that money invested since 2003, however, Roman Abramovich says he won’t charge the loans back from the sale of the club.

“I will not be asking for any loans to be repaid. This was never about business or money for me, but about pure passion for the game and the club. In addition, I instructed my team to create a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated. The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine,” he said in a statement published on the club’s official website.

In nearly 20 years at the head of Chelsea, one of the facets that best define Abramovich is his ability to grind coaches, including those who are successful in front of the team.

There were 13 professionals hired by the Russian, almost one coach per season.

His most successful bet that defines his reign at the English club was the signing of José Mourinho, in 2004, shortly after the Portuguese won the Champions League with Porto.

In his first season, Mourinho led the team to Premier League and League Cup titles. The following season, he won the Premier League title twice. He bid farewell to his first spell in 2007, with an FA Super Cup, a League Cup and an FA Cup.

The Portuguese returned to the club in 2013, after managing Inter Milan and Real Madrid, and returned the London team to the top. In the 2014/2015 season, he doubled up again with Premier League and League Cup trophies, his last two titles with Chelsea before leaving the club in December 2015.

Other renowned managers passed through the Stamford Bridge bench during Abramovich’s tenure, all struggling to cope with the owner’s demands.

Carlo Ancelotti arrived at Chelsea in 2009 and in his first season he won three titles: the Premier League, with an attack that scored more than 100 goals in the tournament, the FA Super Cup and the League Cup.

In the second season, however, he did not win cups, and Abramovich opted for the Italian’s dismissal.

“The beginning of my era at Chelsea was glorious. My ideas, concepts and methods seemed to be well accepted by the players. We started the season very well, with the team winning 14 out of 16 games across all competitions. But even in that period, there were signs that the relationship with the owner of Chelsea could be complicated”, said Ancelotti.

“Nor [Silvio] Berlusconi had been so demanding,” he said of the Milan owner, with whom he worked for seven years.

There have been other experiences with elite coaches who have brought titles to the club. Italian Antonio Conte was English champions in his first season in charge and added an FA Cup in his second year, but he couldn’t resist Abramovich’s guillotine either.

His compatriot Maurizio Sarri led the team to the Europa League title, but left London after a single season to manage Juventus. He is to this day the only manager from the Roman Abramovich era who chose to leave the club to sign a contract with another institution.

It was with an inexperienced manager, however, that Chelsea won their first Champions League in history. Former player of the team, Roberto Di Matteo took over the team after the frustrated passage of the Portuguese André Villas-Boas, who arrived to replace Ancelotti. Assistant to Villas-Boas, Di Matteo guided the English team to the European title, also adding another FA Cup to the Stamford Bridge trophy room.

Despite being a club legend as an athlete and having achieved Abramovich’s ultimate goal, which was continental conquest, Roberto Di Matteo only lasted six more months in office.

Chelsea’s second Champions League came last season, under the command of German Thomas Tuchel, who crowned the European title with victory in the Club World Cup, beating Palmeiras in the final. The last time the English had been in an intercontinental decision, the club had lost to Corinthians in 2012, with Spaniard Rafa Benítez on the bench.

In addition to those already mentioned, the Italian Claudio Ranieri, the Israeli Avram Grant, the Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari (fired after seven months of work), the Dutch Guus Hiddink and the Englishman Frank Lampard, the club’s idol, passed through Chelsea during the Abramovich administration.