Roman Abramovich will attempt to buy Spanish club Valencia once the sale of Chelsea is completed, a rival bidder in the process has claimed.
Abramovich confirmed last month that he was selling the Blues but there is now a suggestion that he may re-enter football immediately with a hope of buying the struggling La Liga club, amid reports that Singaporean businessman Peter Lim has put Valencia up for sale. That is according to Miguel Zorio, who is a rival bidder for Los Che.
Chelsea are desperate to secure a new owner amid a budget crisis, with their funds dictated by the British government in the wake of the UK sanctions imposed on Abramovich due to his alleged links to Russia president Vladimir Putin. Those sanctions were subsequently followed by the EU, which means that any of his assets that are in EU territory could be taken and frozen.
The West London club are desperate to secure new ownership as soon as possible as they continue to feel the impact of the UK government’s sanctions on Abramovich’s assets. Barclays have also suspended the club's bank account and there's a possibility the Blues could face financial armageddon between now and the summer due to the precarious situation.
Zorio has now claimed that he will make official his attempt to buy shares in the Spanish club from Lim later this month. Valencia have fallen into financial ruin under their absentee owner and have gone from European regulars to being a mid-table club in La Liga, with multiple star players sold and not replaced over the past 18 months.
There has now been a claim from Zorio that Lim has attempted to sell the club to Abramovich and has accused the current Valencia owner of leaking the news to the media. Zorio has suggested that the Russian oligarch is the other major contender to buy the club.
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Plaza Deportiva report a letter from Zorio as stating: “Peter Lim has tried to sell the club in London for €250million and has not succeeded. Lately, he has leaked to international media that he has two purchase offers, mine and that of the Russian oligarch of Chelsea. And from here, I tell him that either he puts €50m every year to compensate for the losses he generates or he sells to us. Whether he likes it or not.”
Unhappy Valencia fans have frequently protested against their club’s ownership in recent seasons and have accused them of asset-stripping the club in anticipation of a future sale. The club’s budget has been slashed in recent years and there are even fears over their long-term future, such is the absence of funds available.
Valencia reached the Champions League finals in 2000 and 2001, before winning the title in La Liga in both 2002 and 2004. Having recorded successive top four finishes in 2017 and 2018, they have fallen in recent years and last season finished 13 th in the Spanish top flight.
