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Yesterday, the United Kingdom officially announced sanctions against 7 Russian businessmen, including Chelsea boss Abu. Abu's plan to sell Chelsea also faces huge headwinds. Following Abu's announcement of the sale of Chelsea, The Athletic published a feature article about him, compiled here with slight abridgements (Note: Abu had not been sanctioned at the time of writing).
Compilation 丨 Zhang Bin
The picture 丨 is from the network
【One】
Once upon a time, Roman Abramovich's (hereinafter referred to as "Abu") New Year's party on the Caribbean island of St. Barts was always shrouded in a strong layer of legend.
Attendees are either rich or expensive, from billionaires to Hollywood A-list stars. They own countless mansions and yachts. These dignitaries poured into Abu's lavish estates. Here they can overlook the crystal-clear waters of Guvernil Bay.
Abu's luxury yacht Eclipse is 162 meters long and worth $490 million, moored just off the coast. Whenever the fireworks are lit and the aged champagne flows out, the guests are plunged into a jubilation.
Sometimes, like Gatsby's banquet, guests come and go, but they never see the host. Or, they found themselves with him for so short a time that they didn't recognize the man with the mysterious smile on his face at all. They wouldn't have missed his then-wife, Darsha, at all. But what about Abu? He was hidden in the darkness of the night, and he liked it.
When he first came to Chelsea, he would take his friends and retinue to spend the night wherever they wanted to go. London? Moscow? Paris? Saint-Tropez? Tel Aviv? Pick whatever you want. Someone would call to arrange a private jet, and then they would fly over. At the other end, a chauffeur-driven luxury car is waiting, followed by an all-night party. Once again, Abu faded out of the hustle and bustle of the crowd, observing everything around him but rarely speaking.
"Quiet" – this is one of the two words often used by those who mingle with Abu and enjoy his generosity. Another word is "shy". Some people who have done business with him tend to add the term "attentive" (but others prefer to use the word "deliberate"). But "quiet" and "shy" are the most frequently used words.
One football agent recalled that when he came to Stamford Bridge to talk business with Chelsea, he did not notice that Abu was also sitting at the negotiating table. After talking for nearly an hour, a club official turned to him. Abu nodded in agreement, then said nothing and walked away. The deal is closed.
A former Chelsea coach recalled that Abu would often fly in a helicopter to the club's training ground. He'll spend some time in the restaurant with the manager, and one or two players he trusts. He never spoke up, but listened to them explain the subtleties of the game. "He's very interested in the game and wants to know more. However, he is so quiet that you may not even realize that he is sitting there. The coach recalled.
【2nd】
It's true. Many people tend to think that Abu was able to become one of the richest people on the planet because of his connections. He pays less attention to the price of things and more to the value of relationships and how they are used.
This quiet, shy, introverted man has a fortune of about $12.5 billion. He could have used his connections to become a stakeholder in the British government. His ties to the Russian government, as well as his open links to a number of corrupt activities or practices, made him the only person qualified to facilitate Russian-Ukrainian peace talks. In the British Parliament, LAWmaker Chris Bryant cited a leaked Home Office document noting that Abu was still involved in corruption cases.
Alexander Rodnyansky, a Ukrainian film director and producer who has been nominated for an Oscar, revealed, "Ukraine has been trying to find someone in Russia who can facilitate peace talks. Rodnyyanski allegedly had a close personal relationship with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy, "and they are looking for help, and Abu has decided to step forward and mobilize all parties to advance the peace talks." ”
It all happened within a week. During this time, he also made an "incredibly difficult decision" – to sell Chelsea after 19 years in charge. He did so "for the best interests of the club and its supporters" and the threat of sanctions.
He even announced that he would donate the "net profit" from the sale of Chelsea to a new charitable foundation to help "the victims of the Russo-Ukrainian War". His announcement also further tears the world apart, with some praising his selfless act of giving, while others see it as his delicate act of self-interest out of self-preservation.
Abu's spokesmen and lawyers have been vehemently denying the possibility that he could face sanctions. They say Abu is not an ally of Putin and has no political ambitions, he is just a successful businessman and philanthropist, just a Russian.
Many Russian oligarchs have been targeted for sanctions, with the UK, the US and the EU facing sweeping sanctions. He also has important suspicions, but not yet (Abu has been sanctioned during the compilation of this article).
However, when Putin moved toward Ukraine, Abu has become the iconic "face" of so-called Russian oligarchy.
From the moment he bought Chelsea in 2003, Abu became the most well-known Russian oligarch. The various trophies that followed earned him respect. "In Russia, and even in the world, Abu is recognized and recognized as the owner of Chelsea, no longer the guy who made his fortune in Siberia because of the upside down energy." A source said.
Some would argue that this is a detailed plan for strategic reasons. Others argue that the acquisition of Chelsea was just an accident for someone who escaped the spotlight. He was only 36 when he bought Chelsea in 2003, with billions of dollars in the bank, just to have fun.
He has enjoyed the journey for the past 19 years, immersed in the glory that the club has brought. Under him, Chelsea won five Premier League trophies, two Champions League trophies, and a series of other trophies.
Only time will tell whether he owned Chelsea for his various unknown purposes or whether the restrained 55-year-old billionaire was subject to more scrutiny than expected.
【III】
A longtime Abu's aide has said he wants to get Abu to open up unless he hires a psychologist to have a good talk with him.
Abu is elusive, and his emotions and motives are hard to guess. The assistant wondered to what extent Abu's personality was related to his painful childhood.
Abu was born in October 1966 in Saratov in the Lower Volga region, in what has been described as "a typical Soviet family of the Brezhnev era — not wealthy." His mother, Elena, a former music teacher, died of medical malpractice when Abu was an infant. Not long after, his father, Arkady, died in an accident at the construction site where he worked.
The two-year-old Abu had no siblings and became an orphan.
At first, he was fostered in the northern industrial town of Ukhta to his uncle and aunt. It's only 200 miles from the Arctic Circle. At the age of seven, he was sent to Moscow, where he lived first with his grandmother and then with another uncle, Abram. Here, he can get better living conditions and be able to make a difference.
At the age of 18, he enlisted in the army. Because of the coincidence of time, he was not sent to Afghanistan to fight. In their co-booked Abramović: Billionaires from the Unknown Lands, Dominique Mitch and Chris Hutchins say it was during his service with the Reds that Abu first demonstrated his keen business acumen and quiet ability to persuade.
In an interview with the Russian newspaper Zhizn many years later, Abu's comrade-in-arms Nikolai Pantremonov recounted a plan that Abu had implemented. They persuaded the delivery driver to sell gasoline in the car to other drivers at a lower price. Everyone was involved in the program. "Everyone involved was happy. In terms of business, he is far superior to others, and he can make money out of thin air. ”
Bright yellow rubber ducks, dolls, chocolates, cigarettes, perfumes, and everything else were things he bought and sold in his Moscow apartment after he was discharged from the army. In the late 1980s, as part of the reform process, Gorbachev lifted the ban on private enterprises, and Abu created many small businesses that sold various goods and repaired and retreaded tires. Some of these businesses are on fire. Every transaction, no matter how small, satisfies his ambition to make more money.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the prospects for economic reform under Yeltsin began to emerge. As state-owned assets began to be privatized, some activist businessmen seized the opportunity. Abu's reputation is growing, his business is snowballing, and he is one of many who recognizes the significant lucrative potential of oil.
What changed Abu's life was his relationship with Boris-Berezovsky. Berezovsky transformed Abu from a speculative businessman into a very rich, very powerful man. Berezovsky was a former car salesman who made a fortune in the first few years of Yeltsin's privatization process.
Abu's observations in the business field won his trust. He became a disciple and partner of Berezovsky and joined Berezovsky's plan to acquire the Siberian Oil Company in time. And it's an ambitious plan.
Yeltsin's "loan-for-equity" program facilitated the privatization of the Siberian Oil Company. The American economist Paul Gregory once described it as "the largest robbery in the history of the company." In 2011, when Berezovsky and Abu broke up completely, Jonathan-Sapson, the former's lawyer, said the proceedings "could easily be manipulated — and in fact it was manipulated." ”
Berezovsky, Abu and many other partners bought the Siberian Oil Company for $200 million. It was previously a state asset. By the time Abu bought Chelsea in 2003, Siberian Oil was valued at $15 billion, making Abu one of the richest people on the planet.
This relationship brought Abu into the corridors of power. Berezovsky introduced him to members of the Yeltsin core group. They provided financial support to Yeltsin's successful re-election as president in 1996. The Kremlin also gave back to them a lot. Berezovsky became a guest of the Yeltsin regime, while Abu, as shrewd as ever, hid behind the scenes.
【Wanton】
Nowadays, it's not hard to track a billionaire's itinerary. There are websites that allow you to check the whereabouts of every private jet and every luxury yacht. Of course, the difficulty arises with people like Abu, who has a fleet.
On Feb. 24, the day Putin announced a "special operation" in eastern Ukraine, Abu's Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flew from Nice, France, to Moscow. The aircraft is registered in Luxembourg and is worth about $350 million.
There are traces of all this. Abu owns a castle in Antibes, near Nice, which was once owned by Aristotle Onassis. Was he in a hurry to go to Moscow? yes. This is also feasible.
However, another of his private jets has spent most of the past week between Moscow, Baku, Istanbul and Ankara. Another plane flew from Moscow to Dubai last Monday. Then, the Dreamliner arrived in Dubai on Friday.
For much of that time, the media said Abu had been in Belarus and was trying to broker a peace deal. So, maybe all this effort to dig up the range of an airplane is a waste of time. However, his information in Belarus has not been confirmed.
And his yachts with swimming pools, helipads and bulletproof glass. One of them is moored in the port of Barcelona. Before moving north on Thursday, eclipses were moored near St. Barts Island for most of the time, and then the trajectory disappeared.
【Wu】
Under the "London Grad" boom, a large number of Russian billionaires bought large tracts of land and commercial real estate in the British capital. Such behavior is often described as a celebration of soaring rather than a fear of future uncertainty. Abu also seems to have made London his home, with his mansion in Kensington Gardens with 15 bedrooms. He reportedly bought it in 2009 for £90 million.
Those who knew him scoffed at the above statement. "Abu doesn't live anywhere. He has properties in London, but also all over the world, such as the South of France, New York, Saint Barts, various ski resorts, and other places that you wouldn't even read about in the book. If you ask me, I'll say he lives in Moscow. If you ask him, he'll say he lives on a plane or on a yacht. One source said.
These days, his life is less hedonistic. Since he announced a "tough breakup decision" with his third wife, Dasha, in 2017, he hasn't had a lavish party at St. Barts. Maybe it's because he's in his 50s, not in his 30s or 40s. He is now keen to discuss investing in steel, gold, nickel, forest products, green energy, as well as moscow properties and Israeli startups.
His relations with Britain have also deteriorated for some time. In 2018, diplomatic tensions between London and Moscow escalated in the wake of espionage. There are reports that Abu has withdrawn his UK visa application. A year later, Abu was also on the Home Office's list of key figures.
Last autumn, Abu secretly returned to London twice. The second time was in November, when he accompanied Israeli President Isaac Herzog to an offline event and watched Chelsea draw 1-1 with Manchester United. Herzog told fans gathered at Stamford Bridge that under Abu's leadership, Chelsea had become "shining examples of how sport and football teams can be a force for good, shaping a more tolerant tomorrow." ”
Last May, Abu watched Chelsea beat Manchester City in the Champions League final at Porto. Last month, he witnessed Chelsea's victory over Palmeiras in the Club World Cup in Doha.
Some sources say Abu's love for Chelsea is as strong as ever, while the decision to sell the club is as painful as he hinted in his statement. Others argue that this is not true, claiming that his love fades over time, although his mood will still fluctuate depending on the outcome of each season.
It is widely believed that Abu had planned to sell Chelsea FC for £2.5 billion in 2018. Of course, Chelsea deny this. The only difference now from then is that he was forced to become a hurried seller rather than a voluntary seller.
He has effectively become a club remote operator, but in many ways remains hands-on. In large part, he made his decisions through Marina Grananovskaya (Abu's assistant at Siberian Oil Company) and another long-term partner, Eugene Tenenbaum.
Abu still has the final say on issues such as the hiring and firing of Lampard and the appointment of Tuchel. Last April, Chelsea's decision to withdraw from the UEFA Premier League was also made by Abu. "The biggest decision has always been made by Abu. Now, it is clear that this situation must change. A source said.
【Lu】
The story of Abu, a billionaire, is not only about starting from scratch, but also about the range from orphans to possessing extraordinary wealth and the political status he held during Yeltsin's time. Many insist that Abu's past connections with Putin show that he was "lucky to be in the right place at the right point in time."
Another argument is too simple and crude, pointing to the fact that in the early 1990s thousands of Russian businessmen from humble origins tried to emulate Abu's approach, and by the mid-1990s hundreds followed suit. "I don't think a lot of them are angels." Insiders said.
What makes Abu stand out? Focus? ambition? Business sense of smell? "It's a relationship. He knows how to build relationships and how to take advantage of them. The insider added.
By the time Putin came to power, many Yeltsin-era oligarchs had become enemies of the new president. The most striking of these is Berezovsky. He clashed with the new president, became an outspoken critic of the new regime, and sought political asylum in Britain. Berezovsky died in March 2013 at his home in Berkshire. Initial reports indicated he had committed suicide. The coroner recorded the dubious ruling.
Many influential people like Berezovsky fell out of favor during Putin's administration. Abu was, or used to be, a rare exception.
His team has expressed outrage at any hints that Abu is involved in any political interests, as well as speculation that he has a close relationship with Putin.
Abu managed to reconcile with Harper Collins Publishing Group last year in a defamation case against Harper Collins Publishing Group, which included the removal or modification of multiple allegations in Catherine Belton's book, "Putin's People: How the KGB Recaptured Russia and Subsequently Took Over the West." This includes unsubstantiated allegations about Abu's motives for buying Chelsea.
However, the basic purpose of the book has not been changed. In his court ruling, the judge noted that "the relationship between the plaintiff (Abu) and President Putin is important and there is no dispute between the two sides." ”
Abu's public pledge to provide humanitarian assistance shows his fear of what is happening in Ukraine. But in two statements released in the past week, he has denounced Putin's actions.
His daughter, Sophia, who grew up in England, was not so cautious. Last week, she shared an emoji on Instagram that read: "Russian Putin wants to go to war with Ukraine" and "the biggest and most successful lie in Kremlin propaganda is that most Russians choose to side with Putin."
As for Abu's position, recalling what the participants at the St. Bartz party had told, the instinctive answer was that he was probably detached, periphery, not letting others feel his presence, not letting others hear his voice, not letting others know how he felt.
We don't know exactly what kind of person he was. Key figures in Putin's inner circle? A dissident? Is he a positive force in peace talks and humanitarian assistance? Who but the people in Abu's small circle, who can be sure?
For nearly two decades, Abu has been the most high-profile and mysterious boss in British football, and he remains a mystery. Churchill once said that "Russia is a mystery within a mystery included in the mystery". This description is also appropriate for Abu.
One journalist recently recalled a conversation he had with Abu's public relations manager on the day he entered Stamford Bridge in 2003. He wanted to interview Abu.
"An interview like this will never happen." He was told with a smile.
"I'm not talking about now. I mean wait until he's completely stable. ”
"It's impossible."
"What if he wins the Champions League?"
"Even after winning the Champions League for the fifth time, (not possible)."
At that time, there were rumors that Abu would gradually fade out of the stage and let his money speak for himself. Nearly 19 years on, this quote is more true than ever.