If you don’t know the name, it’s only because she doesn’t want you to. Marina Granovskaia is the ultra private director of Chelsea football club who, thanks to her notoriously sharp negotiation skills has been lauded as the “First Lady of Football”.
Despite having never done a public interview and tightly controlling which images are released of her, there’s little doubt as to the extent of her influence. Last year she was named Best Club Director in European Football and she is known for effectively running Chelsea for Abramovich over recent years. She has been in charge of player transfers and contracts since 2013, as well as securing a record-breaking £900 million Nike sponsorship deal. Granovskaia is undoubtedly an off-pitch powerhouse.
