Roman Abramovich Thread

[Vesper 30,206]

The Ricketts Family have issued a statement seeking to reassure Chelsea fans about their values as their takeover bid hit a major stumbling block due to leaked emails seeming to show issues with racism and Islamophobia.

https://www.caughtoffside.com/2022/03/23/Chelsea-bidders-statement-on-racism/

The Blues are currently up for sale due to sanctions placed on Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who can no longer operate as the west London club’s owner due to his links with Vladimir Putin.

Still, the Ricketts Family are unlikely to be warmly welcomed at Chelsea as leaked emails showed Joe Ricketts referred to Muslims as “the enemy” back in 2019, raising serious concerns about their suitability to take over at Stamford Bridge.

See below for their statement as they insist they have good relations with the Muslim community in Chicago and will seek to show their commitment to diversity and inclusion if they manage to buy Chelsea…

CFC fans might not be too convinced by this, and it will be interesting to see what kind of reception they get if they do end up winning the bid for the club.

Several other suitors remain involved, however, and most Chelsea fans will surely be hoping that almost anyone else ends up taking over from Abramovich.

[Vesper 30,206]

24 minutes ago, lucio said:

Couldn’t care less along as they are rich and spend enough money to keep us at the top. No billionaire got there by selling lemonade after school.

some dumb yank who said something mean about an Arabian religion or an Arabic billionaire with a dodgy reputation, couldn’t care less 

it is not just anti-arabic

that family is bathed in anti-LGBTQ, racist, forced birtherism (ie the falsely named 'right to life'), wanting to outlaw abortion, etc etc

they give millions to RW christofascist politicians and poltical groups and the one who is governor of Nebraska (Pete) is a radical RWer with actual political elected power

wants to ban teaching of anything to due with racism if it makes white children uncomfortable, wants to block talking about LGBTQ issues in schools, wants to ban many books, wants to outlaw abortion, including making it illegal to travel outside the state of Nebraska to get one, etc etc

as a multiracial, part black, queer female, that is just appalling and unacceptable to me on every level

Roman was no angel, but he was the polar opposite of all that on every issue listed

PLUS they run the Chicago Cubs like shit

after the team finally won the championship after over a 100 year wait (they only have won 3 World Series titles ever in 152 years, 1907, 1908 (the legendary Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance teams, see below for the poem), and then in 2016), they cashed in and broke it up for profit

 

These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double –
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

Original title    That Double Play Again
Subject(s)    Baseball
Publisher    New York Evening Mail
Publication date    July 12, 1910

Edited March 23, 2022 by Vesper

[Costa19 858]

28 minutes ago, Vesper said:

it is not just anti-arabic

that family is bathed in anti-LGBTQ, racist, forced birtherism (ie the falsely named 'right to life'), wanting to outlaw abortion, etc etc

they give millions to RW christofascist politicians and poltical groups and the one who is governor of Nebraska (Pete) is a radical RWer with actual political elected power

wants to ban teaching of anything to due with racism if it makes white children uncomfortable, wants to block talking about LGBTQ issues in schools, wants to ban many books, wants to outlaw abortion, including making it illegal to travel outside the state of Nebraska to get one, etc etc

as a multiracial, part black, queer female, that is just appalling and unacceptable to me on every level

Roman was no angel, but he was the polar opposite of all that on every issue listed

PLUS they run the Chicago Cubs like shit

after the team finally won the championship after over a 100 year wait (they only have won 3 World Series titles ever in 152 years, 1907, 1908 (the legendary Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance teams, see below for the poem), and then in 2016), they cashed in and broke it up for profit

 

These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double –
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

Original title    That Double Play Again
Subject(s)    Baseball
Publisher    New York Evening Mail
Publication date    July 12, 1910

The bolded is what makes me shout no.

The others are politics and no matter what political position the new owners will have, people will be dissatisfied.
Also, some political positions may be more compatible with clubs' values and working methods and we must assume that the club acts accordingly in the choice of new owners.

You could stretch the argument that Roman sells steel used to make tanks and indirectly supports the war in Ukarina. It's a bigger moral drama for me than what political opinion a billionaire has.

I understand if you personally have a hard time with Ricketts, but regardless of what political background the new owners will have, all types of individuals and groups will feel excluded in different ways.
We are looking for the best sporting owners primarily and this is where Ricketts falls short.

So.. Next candidates please! 

Btw. Boehly's consortium has been quiet for a few days? Wonder why..

Edited March 23, 2022 by Costa19

[Vesper 30,206]

21 minutes ago, Costa19 said:

The bolded is what makes me shout no.

The others are politics and no matter what political position the new owners will have, people will be dissatisfied.
Also, some political positions may be more compatible with clubs' values and working methods and we must assume that the club acts accordingly in the choice of new owners.

You could stretch the argument that Roman sells steel used to make tanks and indirectly supports the war in Ukarina. It's a bigger moral drama for me than what political opinion a billionaire has.

I understand if you personally have a hard time with Ricketts, but regardless of what political background the new owners will have, all types of individuals and groups will feel excluded in different ways.
We are looking for the best sporting owners primarily and this is where Ricketts falls short.

So.. Next candidates please! 

Btw. Boehly's consortium has been quiet for a few days? Wonder why..

I fully accept that most of the Brits involved will be Tories

and the other billionaires not having 100% 'clean hands'

but I will be fucked if I get assuaged about owners from a family who IF they tried to implement their US political agenda over here (especially Sweden) much of it would be in violation of hate crime laws (hets mot folkgrupp)

same for that cunt (who also has run HIS sports team, the NY Jets, into ground and at a level even worse that the Ricketts with the Cubs) Woody Johnson, who openly advocates for the UK to copy TRUMP

the big difference between Ricketts and Johnson and their ilk versus the Qataris, UAE, and yes, Roman, is that the first two (Ricketts fam and Johnson) openly want to turn the entire West into their vision for the US, especially the UK

whereas the others do no such thing (they limit their medieval ways to their own nations, for the most part, with the major exception of the Saudis), and Roman actually pushed the opposite agenda here, he was anti hate and bigotry

even if we limit debate to the US political sphere, owning Chels aids the RW yanks, gives them additional agency (and profit, one assumes, at least I do) and THAT enables them to push agendas (even if mostly indirectly) that have and will continue to drift across the pond to here, as the political forces they support want to take their christofascist crusade to all of the West

[Vesper 30,206]

Chelsea bidder worth three times more than Roman Abramovich warns of 'bleeding money'

A British-led consortium chief with assets of £40billion at his disposal has warned Chelsea that they are currently 'bleeding money' with the clock ticking during their search for a new owner

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/Chelsea-bidder-nizar-al-bassam-26534372

A prominent Chelsea bidder has warned the club that they are currently 'bleeding money' while they look for a new owner with a 'clock ticking' on their decision-making process.

Centricus' co-founder Nizar Al-Bassam, a season ticket holder at Stamford Bridge, has teamed up with asset managers Jonathan Lourie, Bob Finch and Garth Ritchie to put in an ownership bid.

The group, who have pledged to invest in the club and community if they are selected to take over - have also admitted that they will seek to make a profit from their hefty investment and are not solely interested because of a love for football.

Al-Bassam, who has a net worth of £33billion which is more than three times larger than former owner Roman Abramovich at £10.2bn, has also spoken out about his desire for the club to make a swift decision, believing that their current predicament is not helpful.

Speaking to the Daily Mail this week, he said: "We oversee £40bn assets.

"We've been focused on content for a number of years, the FIFA work, the UEFA work, is all built around our view that content is a very, very dominant aspect of technology going forward and sports is a very core, key aspect of content."

Before adding: "There's a clock [on finding a new owner] ticking because the club is bleeding money at a faster rate than it should be while there's uncertainty there."

The deadline to submit bids came on Friday, March 18, with the club looking to secure financial backing before the end of the season.

After sanctions were placed on the club by the UK government, the future of five players became uncertain with their contracts due to expire this summer.

As well as former youth prospect Charley Musonda, who hasn't played for the club since 2017/18, Saul Niguez is set return to Atletico Madrid following a season-long loan.

More worryingly, club captain Cesar Azpilicueta could yet be forced to leave the club sooner than planned after a decade with Andreas Christensen's agreement also ending.

The biggest loss might well be that of Antonio Rudiger, who won't be short of offers should he become a free agent at the end of the season.

[Vesper 30,206]

if true, my father had the right league, but wrong team (he thought it would be Trabzonspor (as we already have a relationship with them), but then I can see why he would want an Izmir team)

Roman Abramovich 'opens talks' to buy new European football team after quitting Chelsea

Roman Abramovich is said to have opened talks to buy a new football club in Europe after putting Chelsea up for sale - despite the Blues takeover not yet being completed

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/breaking-roman-abramovich-Chelsea-goztepe-26535572

Roman Abramovich is said to have opened talks to by a new football club in Europe after putting Chelsea up for sale - despite the Blues takeover not yet being completed.

The Russian oligarch was pushed into selling up at Stamford Bridge after being placed under sanctions by the UK government - and hasn't wasted any time in looking at future investments.

The 55-year-old billionaire said it was with a heavy heart that he put Chelsea up for sale after a hugely successful two decades, and he could be about to channel his passion into Turkish outfit Goztepe.

Turkish outlet Fanatik report that negotiations between outgoing Goztepe president Mehmet Sepil and Abramovich's representatives have already begun.

Sepil recently announced that he would be leaving his role as president but would keep hold of duties until a replacement was found.

They say that Super Lig outfit had their eyes turned towards the former Chelsea chief due to recent developments, and that market assessments have been made by both parties.

Abramovich, an intermediary businessman, Sepil and club executives are said to be planning a face-to-face meeting for the coming days, with Sepil holding the majority of club shares.

Although Abramovich wasn't likely to step away from football for good following his Chelsea departure, Goztepe wasn't the most obvious destination.

Founded in 1925, Goztepe play at the 20,040 capacity Gursel Aksel Stadium and played in the third division as recently as 2009.

Although they are known for having a large fanbase, Goztepe haven't won the first division since 1950 or the Turkish Cup since 1970.

Not only have they struggled of late, but Goztepe are in serious danger of relegation into the second tier - sitting eight points from safety with eight games remaining.

Despite Super Lig giants Fenerbahce, Besiktas, and most notably Galatasaray having terrible domestic campaigns, Goztepe have lost seven league fixtures in a row.

Former Croatian international Stjepan Tomas is the current boss at Goztepe, their fourth coach since the start of 2021.

One reunion that could be on the cards for Abramovich is with Goztepe striker Franco Di Santo, who played for Chelsea between 2008 and 2010.

As reported by Business Insider, the net worth of Abramovich has slumped to £10.21billion over the past few months - which is still more than enough to take control of a football club.

Edited March 23, 2022 by Vesper

[Vesper 30,206]

 

[milka 3,393]

Catalina Kim is definitely a person who is very passionate about soccer  but  she only talks about things that fans like to hear. 

Edited March 23, 2022 by milka

[King Kante 1,643]

1 hour ago, milka said:

Catalina Kim is definitely a person who is very passionate about soccer  but  she only talks about things that fans like to hear. 

Personally, I don't want a owner/group of owners who play to public opinion too much. 

[Superblue 6,372]

The longer this drags on, the more I'm inclined to believe the Ricketts were the preferred bid or at worst on the shortlist and Raine and the club are perhaps spending longer deliberating over this after the opposition to them.

 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,819]

 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,819]

 

[Laylabelle 9,536]

5 minutes ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

 

Better then nothing. Hurrah

[ZAPHOD2319 4,819]

2 minutes ago, Laylabelle said:

Better then nothing. Hurrah

At the very least it is a move in the right direction in case this sale drags on.

[MoroccanBlue 5,383]

3 minutes ago, Laylabelle said:

Better then nothing. Hurrah

To me, it seems they are only doing this to get rid of the "Unfair advantage" we would have at home games with only the season ticket holders in attendance and no away fans. 

 

[Laylabelle 9,536]

6 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

To me, it seems they are only doing this to get rid of the "Unfair advantage" we would have at home games with only the season ticket holders in attendance and no away fans. 

 

Probably. But they said there's about 28,000 ticket holders so not like been a huge crowd of home lot. 

But least we can also have fans at Wembley!

[MoroccanBlue 5,383]

2 minutes ago, Laylabelle said:

Probably. But they said there's about 28,000 ticket holders so not like been a huge crowd of home lot. 

But least we can also have fans at Wembley!

Champions League as well if I read that correctly. 

[milka 3,393]

 

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[MoroccanBlue 5,383]

14 hours ago, milka said:

 

The money was already there it seems.