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Football London
Football London
Sport
Daniel Orme

What Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea sale 'offer' means for Marina Granovskaia and future transfers

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has drawn his ownership of the west London club into question having apparently offered the Blues to interested parties.

Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss has claimed that he is one of a number of individuals having been offered the opportunity to acquire Chelsea.

Speaking with an interview with Blick, the 86-year-old said: "[Abramovich] wants to get rid of Chelsea quickly. I and three other people received an offer on Tuesday to buy Chelsea from Abramovich.

"I have to wait four to five days now. Abramovich is currently asking far too much. You know, Chelsea owe him £2billion [it is £1.5billion]. But Chelsea has no money. That means: those who buy Chelsea should compensate Abramovich.

"As of today, we don't know the exact selling price. I can well imagine starting at Chelsea with partners. But I have to examine the general conditions first. But what I can already say: I'm definitely not doing something like this alone. If I buy Chelsea, then with a consortium consisting of six to seven investors."

The latest development comes after the Russian oligarch ceded the control and stewardship of Chelsea to trustees of the club's charitable arm.

Having owned the Blues since 2003, the billionaire released a short statement on Saturday evening confirming his decision - a move that has left plenty of doubt of the future of reigning European champions.

One surprise name who has not yet been mentioned is current director Marina Granovskaia.

Of Russian and Canadian descent, the 47-year-old has been a close colleague of the current Chelsea owner since 1997 having been granted a position as his personal assistant. She was also an employee of Abramovich’s other company Millhouse Capital.

Granovskaia eventually joined the Blues in 2010, with her role starting in a representative capacity before she was granted a position on the club’s board ahead of the 2013/14 season.

Her role in west London has continued to grow and was granted chief executive status in 2014 and has since been at the heart of a number of the Blues’ dealings in the transfer market.

Granovskaia's remit was not set to be altered in the wake of Abramovich's decision to step back from the day-to-day dealings at Stamford Bridge and she remains in charge of all football decisions.

However, whether that will change should the Russian billionaire elect to quit the club remains to be seen. Any buyer would likely want to install their own directors to run the club at the top level.

Granovskaia was recently pictured at Wembley Stadium for the Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool so clearly still holds some personal investment in the club so it would be interesting to see whether she would follow Abramovich out or indeed stay in west London.

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