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LONDON. — Thomas Tuchel says it is the “right decision’’ for Roman Abramovich to sell Chelsea after the Russian billionaire confirmed he is looking for a buyer for the English Premier League football club.
Amid massive calls for the oligarch to be sanctioned following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the 55-year-old — who bought Chelsea in 2003 — says he has made the ‘’painful’’ decision to offload the club.
In a statement on Wednesday evening, Abramovich claimed he will not demand that Chelsea repay the £1.5billion he is owed and that all net proceeds from the sale would go to a charitable foundation he is setting up ‘’which will benefit all victims of the war in Ukraine’’.
While Abramovich has yet to find a buyer for the club, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss claims he and three others were approached by the Russian to buy the club this week after the threat of sanctions was raised in Parliament.
Abramovich made his statement just minutes before Chelsea named their starting line-up for Wednesday night’s FA Cup clash with Luton Town and Tuchel admitted he cannot imagine life without Abramovich after the Russian billionaire’s stunning decision to put Chelsea up for sale.
Abramovich has come to the “incredibly difficult” conclusion that he must sell Chelsea amid the political fall-out from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The 55-year-old revealed the shock news less than an hour before Chelsea kicked off in their 3-2 FA Cup fifth round win at Luton on Wednesday night.
Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 and his vast investment helped the west London club win 19 major trophies, including five Premier League titles and two Champions League crowns.
He hired Tuchel in January 2021 and was in Abu Dhabi recently to watch as Chelsea won the Club World Cup for the first time, having already lifted the Champions League and Uefa Super Cup in the German’s reign.
But the Abramovich era at Stamford Bridge is coming to an abrupt end due to the war in Ukraine.
Abramovich reportedly opted to sell Chelsea amid fears he could come under British government sanctions given his alleged links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
With a consortium of billionaires already making their interest in a deal public, Abramovich set his asking price for Chelsea at a reported £3 billion (US$4 billion) and pledged to give the net proceeds to victims of the Ukraine conflict.
Swiss tycoon Hansjorg Wyss and American investor Todd Boehly, a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, are understood to be two of the parties joining forces to bid for the Blues.
Tuchel and his players only learned of the oligarch’s decision to sell up shortly before the Luton match.
And he conceded he needed time to get to grips with the seismic changes on the horizon in the post-Abramovich world.
“It’s a bit too early to speak, because I can only think about Chelsea with Roman Abramovich. So it’s very hard for me. It hasn’t sunk in yet that this is going to stop. It’s a massive change of course,” Tuchel said.
Asked if the bombshell announcement had rocked his players given their creaky display for long periods against second tier Luton, Tuchel said: “They have internet connections, they watch TV so of course they knew, they get messages. But still we focused in the preparation only on sports. — Metro
Online Reporter