Abramovich's announcement will not change anything at Chelsea

On the face of it, a benefactor handing the enterprise he funds to a charity should be a heartwarming, feel-good story — but only those living in a parallel universe will interpret Roman Abramovich’s ruse with Chelsea as a philanthropic act.

At 6.45 pm on Saturday, via a brief statement on the club’s website, Abramovich announced that he was giving trustees of Chelsea’s charitable Foundation “stewardship and care of Chelsea FC” and spoke about “values” and “playing a positive role in our communities”. At no point in the statement did he mention his country of birth’s aggression against Ukraine and the subsequent loss of human life.

Night had just fallen in Kyiv, a capital city in curfew, where residents huddled in the city’s underground and followed news of compatriots — women and children — queuing 15km deep at the border with Moldova in a desperate effort to escape Ukraine, a country fighting an invasion from Russia — an invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin, with whom Abramovich has “significant” ties.

His decision to step back from controlling Chelsea was a response to the pressure building on the club as a result of Putin’s murderous campaign in Ukraine. Abramovich, 55, bought the club for £140 million in 2003, having made his billions amid the carve up of former state-owned assets under Putin’s predecessor as Russia president, Boris Yeltsin.

On Thursday, the Labour MP Chris Bryant told the House of Commons of a leaked 2019 Home Office document which said that Abramovich is linked to the Russian state — a claim not contested by Abramovich himself in a libel action against the author, Catherine Belton, whose book Putin’s People described his “significant” relationship with Putin.

Bryant also linked Abramovich to “corrupt activity and practices” and demanded that Abramovich’s UK assets be seized, and that he be barred from owning a British football club. His decision to hand over “stewardship” of Chelsea appears to have been influenced by such pressure, which in the run-up to Sunday’s Carabao Cup final was clearly being felt by Chelsea’s head coach, Thomas Tuchel, and his players.

Tuchel said on Friday that there were “so many uncertainties around the situation of our club” and that the minds of his staff and squad were “clouded” by this, and events in Ukraine. “It is worrying for everybody,” he said. “We live in a peaceful Europe. I am born in a peaceful Europe and have lived forever in a peaceful Europe and took peace for granted.

“From time to time you get this brutal reality check, but still it always felt far away. Now, also with a bit of life experience, suddenly we have a war in Europe. This is simply a very unusual and horrible situation that nobody wants to experience. I think everybody is worried.”

Tuchel admitted that his players’ preparations for Sunday’s final had been “clouded” by the conflict and its implications

Tuchel also questioned whether it was “appropriate” to treat Sunday’s match in the normal way of games of football, as an escape from worldly concerns.

He spoke of his “mixed feeling” — though Chelsea intervened to prevent him from answering a question about Putin and Abramovich.

For this to be the backdrop to a club playing in a cup final illustrated the toxicity of having Abramovich in control, but did the announcement really change anything? 

Abramovich remains Chelsea owner. Chelsea still owe Abramovich £1.514 billion from the money he has pumped into them, over 19 years, via third-party loans. Was the statement just a distraction and an attempt, via a technicality, to insulate Chelsea from any punitive action the UK government may now be considering?

Abramovich has repeatedly and vehemently denied ties to the Putin regime and successfully challenged a claim in Belton’s book that he purchased Chelsea on Putin’s orders. 

On Tuesday, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, withdrew his claims that Abramovich was “already facing sanctions” for supporting Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. However, three allies of Putin and five Russian banks have been sanctioned by the UK government, with Johnson signalling there may be further action in the days to come. Abramovich owns a £152 million home in the UK, but for the past four years has been pulling back from activity in Britain.

In 2018 he withdrew his application for a new UK visa and has been travelling in and out of the country using his Israeli passport. When he attended Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United in November, it was his first game at Stamford Bridge for more than three years, despite him attending several big Chelsea matches abroad.

Those listed as trustees of Chelsea’s Foundation on the club’s website are a disparate bunch. They are Bruce Buck, Chelsea’s long time chairman and a key Abramovich ally; Emma Hayes, the manager of Chelsea’s women’s team; a lawyer, John Devine; a former sports minister, Hugh Robertson; Chelsea’s director of finance, Paul Ramos; and the former chief executive of Kick It Out, Piara Power.

Quite how that grouping will be expected to run the club appears to be a detail that is still to be ironed out. Perhaps the community of football managers, however, will be hopeful that the announcement signals genuine change — given Abramovich’s propensity to sack them.