Petr Cech has said that Chelsea are currently operating ‘day by day’ and have no guarantee of survival before sending an impassioned message to the club’s supporters as well as potential buyers.
The legendary goalkeeper, who now works as one of the club’s technical and performance advisors, was speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the Blues’ Premier League fixture with Newcastle on Sunday.
Cech is the most senior member of the Chelsea staff to have spoken publicly since Abramovich decided to sell the club last week and sanctions were imposed on Thursday.
The Blues are unable to sell match tickets or merchandise and are effectively under a transfer ban, unable to buy, sell or negotiate contracts for players.
The club’s sponsors have also started to distance themselves from the club, with mobile network provider and official club partner Three suspending their £40million-a-year deal within hours of the sanctions being announced.
With a wage bill of around £28million a month to pay there is a potential scenario where Chelsea could go into administration if they can’t foot the bill, though all the while the process of finding a new buyer for the club is underway.
The uncertainty and tension at Stamford Bridge since Thursday’s announcement has been palpable, with Cech being one of the first senior voices to air his opinion on the ordeal.
“It has been a difficult situation at the football club because there has been a lot of questions but not a lot of answers,” he told Sky Sports.
“We are determined to focus on things that we can control and working with people, supporting people and focusing on each other, making sure we can play the games.
“We have to admit that we go day by day, as we do not have this situation in our hands.
“The conversations are going on and we hope that we can try to operate in a way that means we can finish the season.”
He added: “It is something that I am not involved in but we have the board and people from the club talking to the government every day about the current licence and how we can operate, and what we can do to try and finish the season the best way that we can.
“We hope the people working for the club are able to earn their salaries and live their lives.”
Cech also sent a message to potential new buyers of the club, with several consortiums and individuals reportedly interested in tendering a bid for Chelsea.
Among the leading candidates are LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss with a joint proposal, plus Turkish businessman Mushin Bayrak, Chicago Cubs chairman Thomas Ricketts and English property developer Nick Candy.
“Chelsea Football Club has 170 years of history and obviously have had a lot of success,” added Cech when asked if he had a message for potential suitors.
“That comes down to the hard work and dedication of the people who have worked for the club since it was founded and have been on this journey of success.
“Of course, I hear around that people are trying to erase the last 19 years of the football community but this is not about money, this is about dedication and hard work of the players and the people behind the scenes to make the club successful.
“We have done it within all of the rules and all of the financial fair play and everything that was in our power, and this should not be forgotten.”
