Roman Abramovich is looking to sell Chelsea and has offered the club to four different parties, including Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss.
The club announced on Saturday that Abramovich would be taking a step back from his duties but now it seems as though a new takeover could be imminent, as the 55-year-old has come under increased scrutiny as one of Russia ’s high-profile businessmen.
There have been calls for further sanctions for Chelsea ’s owner, due to his alleged connections to Vladimir Putin and his regime, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But one problem that stands in the way of a new owner buying the west London football club is the high asking price put up by Abramovich, with Wyss himself telling Swiss German-language newspaper Blick that it was “far too much”.
The 86-year-old admitted that he doesn’t know the exact selling price, but it is thought that, with Chelsea being the seventh most valuable club in world football, they are worth just under £2.5 billion.
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Since Abramovich bought the club in 2003, the Blues have won every single possible trophy they have competed for, bringing with it vast wealth and riches as they became one of the biggest clubs in the world.
That trophy cabinet includes five Premier League ’s, five FA Cup ’s, three League Cup’s, two Community Shield’s, two UEFA Champions League ’s, two UEFA Europa League’s, one UEFA Super Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup.
In this time, Abramovich has invested £1.5 billion into the club and is keen on recouping all of that money as part of the sale, hence why his asking price is supposedly too much for some.
Plenty of that money has gone into signing first team players and Chelsea’s current squad is worth close to £1 billion, according to the club’s latest financial results.
And as per Forbes for April 2021, the team’s value was £2.4 billion, although since then they have won another Champions League title and secured the Club World Cup last month, which would have increased that figure.
The Russian billionaire is worth around £9.4 billion himself and has so far refused any offers that have been below his expectations.
However, he is keen on a quick sale of the club, according to Wyss, and if this is the case, then Abramovich may have no option but to accept a slightly lower offer than what he has requested.
In 2019, Britain’s richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, was heavily interested in sealing a deal to buy Chelsea but was unwilling to meet Abramovich’s £2.5 billion estimation of the club.
It is thought that Abramovich’s estimation is now slightly lower than what it was three years ago, but either way, it is close to the £2 billion mark.
