After the reporter Han Bing reported that after the escalation of the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the British, which originally had tense relations with Russia, reacted particularly fiercely, and the British media and fans generally worried that Chelsea controlled by Abu might be forcibly sold. In order to avoid the British government's sanctions on individuals affecting the club, Abu announced through the official Announcement of Chelsea on Saturday local time that the club would be managed by the Chelsea Charitable Foundation.
At present, the United Kingdom has announced the "first wave" of economic sanctions against Russia, targeting 5 Russian banks and 3 oligarchs. Although Chelsea boss Abu is not among them, Abu's relationship with the British government has reached a freezing point before, and he even has to take an Israeli passport to enter the United Kingdom.
Chelsea's impact on Chelsea can also be expected given that sanctions against Russia have spilled over into the sports world, including the cancellation of St. Petersburg's hosting of the Champions League final, sochi's hosting of the FI Russian Grand Prix, and the shift of the Russian national team and clubs to their home stadiums in Europe.
At present, the reaction of Premier League clubs to Russia has emerged, and Manchester United has suspended its sponsorship contract with Aeroflot due to the British government's ban on all Aeroflot flights, which has cost the Red Devils £4 million per season. Other clubs are also considering cutting with Russian sponsors.
Abu's Chelsea position is awkward, and on Sunday, Chelsea will compete with Liverpool for the League Cup title at Wembley Stadium, and Blues manager Tuchel has had to respond to press press press, admitting that the morale in the Chelsea dressing room has been affected due to uncertainty about the future of Abu and the club.
Allegedly, Abu will not appear in the League Cup final because of his sensitive identity, but his right-hand man, Marina Granovskaya, will appear. Previously, when Chelsea participated in the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, Abu was involved in the whole process, and this absence was obviously related to the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
It is reported that British politics has targeted Abu. Labor MP Bryant used the secret files of the British Ministry of the Interior as evidence, believing that Abu had close ties with Russian politics and suspected of corruption, and asked the British government to ban Abu from entering the country. He stressed that the investigative document was issued in 2019, but the British government has done little to do anything about Abu.
Bryant not only wants to ban Abu from entry, but also wants Chelsea to break out of Abu's control, and even asked the British government to consider confiscating Abu's fixed assets in the UK, including a mansion worth £153 million.
In 2011, the Uk's High Court held that Abu offered £1.3 billion to Russian oligarch Berezovsky to help him conduct illegal business activities. After that, Abu was unable to obtain a British visa and was forced to apply for an Israeli passport before he was able to enter the United Kingdom and manage Chelsea. In 2018, Abu voluntarily withdrew his application for a UK visa for a Tier 1 investor, when he already knew that It was impossible for ukling politics to allow him to remain in the UK.
After the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Abu has lost up to £300 million in wealth. The Chelsea boss, who owns a 29 percent stake in Russia's Evraz Steel Group, has plunged 30 percent in recent days; shares of Poly Metal International, another company he owns, have also plummeted about 33 percent.
While not on the first list of sanctioners released by the British government, Abu is one of the 35 pro-Russian oligarchs listed by the British government-backed Russian opposition leader Navalny, while the List of Russian oligarchs that Britain's Liberal Democrat MP Moran believes should be sanctioned includeS abu and former gunmanov shareholder Usmanov. Although Abu vehemently denied that he had close ties with Russia's top brass, it did not help.
While Blues fans were worried about the prospects of the 'world's best boss' and the club, Abu was as quick and decisive as ever to unveil his coping strategy. On Saturday, local time, he issued a statement through the club's official statement: "In the nearly 20 years that I have owned Chelsea in the past, I have always regarded myself as the manager of the club, and all I have to do is to ensure that we can achieve the success we have today, while building the future and playing an active role in our community." I always made decisions from the bottom of my heart for the best interests of the club, and I still uphold those values, which is why I am now entrusted to the Chelsea Charitable Foundation to manage Chelsea. I think they're doing a good job right now and being able to handle the interests of the club, the players, the staff and the fans in the best possible way. ”
Hosting by the Foundation is clearly not a long-term solution, and the future of Chelsea still needs to be further observed. The Daily Mail revealed that a number of investors interested in Chelsea are already preparing the relevant acquisition draft, including many US capital that has been very active recently, with Bloomberg estimating it at 1.5 billion pounds.
In the context of the further deterioration of Anglo-Russian relations, if Abu had to give up Chelsea, which he had painstakingly managed for 19 years, it would naturally be a disaster for the Blues who were reborn in his hands to become the top giants in Europe.