On March 10, local time, the British government called a halt to the team sale plan that English Premier League team Chelsea Football Club had been promoting, because the team's Russian owner Abramovich became the target of Sanctions in the United Kingdom, and his assets in the United Kingdom were frozen.
The United Kingdom and other Western countries have imposed large-scale sanctions on Individuals and Entities in the Political and Business Circles of Russia because of the situation in Ukraine. On the 10th, the British government announced a new batch of sanctions, including 7 well-known Russian entrepreneurs. In addition to Abramović, there are Igor Sechin, CEO of Rosneft, Alexei Miller, CEO of Gazprom, and others. According to British estimates, the net personal asset value of the seven sanctioned people totaled about 15 billion pounds (about 124.3 billion yuan), of which Abramovich's net worth was about 9.4 billion pounds.
Abramovich announced last week that he was preparing to sell chelsea, which he bought in 2003. The British government stopped the sale plan on the 10th, while prohibiting it from transferring or lending players, selling new ball game tickets and peripheral goods. The ban takes effect today. However, the club can be sold if the British government takes over and Abramovich does not profit from it. The British government's so-called "not profiting" may sound like it does not lose money, but in fact, according to the logic of the British government, Abramovich will bear huge economic losses.
In 2003, Abramovich bought Chelsea for 140 million pounds, 19 years, his investment in the team is well-known in the football industry, as the founder of the original "Golden Dollar Football", it can be said that Abramovich's entry has changed the pattern of the entire Premier League, through the continuous investment every year, Chelsea has also grown from a mid-range team to a Premier League powerhouse, winning two Champions League titles, five Premier League titles, one Club World Cup championship, and completing the club level of the Grand Slam. And £140 million today is no match for £140 million from £140 million 19 years ago.
After waving the stick of sanctions, Britain's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Nadine Doris said she knew the move "would create uncertainties" but that the Government had promised to "protect" "cultural assets and community cornerstones" such as football clubs. From the perspective of British fans, though, they don't buy into the government's actions. One fan said: "It's horrible, I think it's the most hypocritical, Europe buys Russian energy every day at a high price, on the other hand, they supply weapons to Ukraine, this crazy act is time to end." Sanctioning Abramovich will not change anything, and it is not Abramovich who is financing the war, but Europe. Why deprive us fans of fun? This is the problem of the sanctioners themselves. ”
(Editor: Si Wen)