Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has stolen the initiative ahead of Liverpool as the Russian businessman looks set to acquire a second football club.
The 55-year-old has been at the forefront of Chelsea ’s success since taking over the club in 2006.
Abramovich has overseen five Premier League title victories during that time and also seen his side lift the Champions League twice.
The Blues have now established themselves as one of the best teams in the world, and the mass investment from Abramovich on all fronts has played a major part in their success.
But the owner is not content with just owning one club.
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According to journalist Jorge Nicola, via Sport Witness, Brazilian side Vasco de Gama are looking for investors and one of the 20 interested parties is a Russian group which Abramovich is involved in.
The report goes on to state that talks have started to evolve and that Vasco president Jorge Salgado is set to travel to Europe so that he can hold talks with the Russian party, though it is unsure whether Abramovich will be present.
Although the news is drawing the eye, it is not out of the ordinary and Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have been keen to acquire a sister club for several months.
The Reds most recently missed out on Brazilian side Cruzeiro, having previously made a proposal according to their former superintendent Aloisio Vasoncellos.
Vasoncellos told Superesportes : “The negotiation is international. There will be proposals from all sides.
“I support the proposal of the Bank of Boston, which has links with XP (Investments). They own Liverpool (England), which is the best organized and managed football club in Europe. He was even world champion and later runner-up in the world.
"This day marks this division, between the stage of disgrace, which has passed, fortunately, and the stage of grace, which looks forward.
“With a horizon, I believe, strong. Cruzeiro has assets, it has 10 million fans.”
However, unfortunately for FSG, former Brazilian international striker Ronaldo bought the club and it has left them now scouring Europe for another investment opportunity.
Ronaldo is believed to be one of the best strikers to ever grace a football pitch, winning the World Cup twice, La Liga, UEFA Cup and the Ballon d’Or twice.
And the striker’s career began at Cruzeiro and so when the opportunity arose to buy a controlling stake in his boyhood club, it was an opportunity too good for him to pass up on for the 45-year-old.
Speaking after his company, Tara Sports, Ronaldo’s company had concluded the deal, the former Real Madrid and Barcelona star said: “I am so happy to have concluded this operation," before adding that intends to "give back to Cruzeiro and take them where they deserve to be..
He continued: "We have a lot of hard to work to do. There's nothing to celebrate yet but we bring a lot of hard work and the ambition to make Cruzeiro great again."
It remains to be seen whether Abramovich’s group is able to reach a deal with Vasco de Gama, and also whether FSG may be one of the other 19 groups interested in the club.
