Roman Abramovich Thread

[Superblue 6,370]

https://news.sky.com/story/Chelsea-fc-sale-celtics-owner-pagliuca-breaks-silence-with-pledge-to-cherish-blues-12588486

 

Stephen Pagliuca appears to have broken his silence.

[Superblue 6,370]

This seems to be the full statement.

[Mário César 967]

42 minutes ago, Superblue_1986 said:

https://news.sky.com/story/Chelsea-fc-sale-celtics-owner-pagliuca-breaks-silence-with-pledge-to-cherish-blues-12588486

 

Stephen Pagliuca appears to have broken his silence.

what do you think about him?

[Superblue 6,370]

7 minutes ago, Mário César said:

what do you think about him?

It's difficult to have a really definitive opinion on the whole situation to be honest because there is a real lack of true information coming out around the bids.

It's been widely reported that the Ricketts bid carries no debt and is 100% equity. If that is being reported in such a way, would make you assume that the other bids perhaps are not. But then I would also expect any bids that had any significant form of debt financing included wouldn't have made it this far with Raine.

I don't follow the Boston Celtics so I can only rely on more knowledgeable people than myself commenting on his ownership of them. From what it appears he seems pretty good, no real controversy and very much in the background. I'm glad that he has released a statement. Like the Ricketts one, its pretty basic stuff although I think worded in a much more warming and informal tone. But it's still good to at least have this baseline to at least start from because up to this point no one, even in the media, really had any idea of his plans with the bid and it's secrecy felt a little concerning.

Ironically I would say now the Broughton bid seems to be the weakest one. After he did some PR rounds a few weeks ago, everything has gone quiet with this and there doesn't appear to be much transparency with the bid as it obviously isn't his money. I personally don't like the idea on this bid of Harris and Blitzer just divesting their Palace shares at will to jump over to us. Ethically this doesn't sit with me well that they're prepared to just dump something with very little notice and our semi final against them this coming week probably doesn't help matters.

Ultimately we're not privy to the fine detail of each bid and this is what Raine and the likes of Buck, Marina, etc are paid the big money for. I'm a little worried Raine will push for what earns them the biggest commission (although as it's not necessarily biggest bid wins, their commission may well be factored against biggest bid anyway despite the selected winning one), and the likes of Bruce and Marina may push their own agenda regarding their futures at the club. We just have to trust and place faith across them all that they will make a decision on what is best for our football club in the long term.

I'm at a point now though where this has drained and sucked all my appetite out for football this season. Maybe a comeback tonight will get the fires burning again but if I'm honest, I'm just looking forward to this being resolved and the season ending to re-charge over the summer and look forward to a new era at the club.

[Pizy 18,323]

It’s just so difficult to gauge where our expectations should be with all these prospective owners. They all seem to have something in common in that the bids are being fronted by a “smaller” billionaire but then they’re backed by these colossal firms that are worth mega-billions. 

So it’s pretty much impossible to know until they’re in place what sort of ownership model we’ll have. Will it be a cheap bastard owner like Kroenke? Will it be a group solely interested in the commercial side and pulling out money like the Glazers? Or will we hit the jackpot again and have an owner whose primary concern is winning on the pitch?

The only one of the 4 finalists that I have high hopes for is the Boehly group. The LA Dodgers are the equivalent of Real Madrid/PSG/Barca here in baseball in that they are always targeting and signing huge names and superstars. And with reporting last week that the main owner of the Dodgers has teamed up on Boehly’s bid that can only be a positive. They’ll want to make a splash.

[MoroccanBlue 5,281]

1 hour ago, Pizy said:

 Will it be a cheap bastard owner like Kroenke? Will it be a group solely interested in the commercial side and pulling out money like the Glazers? Or will we hit the jackpot again and have an owner whose primary concern is winning on the pitch?

Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z

[Vesper 28,347]

2 hours ago, Mário César said:

what do you think about him?

Bain Capital, one of the worst, most rapacious private equity firms on the planet

they have crushed the lives of so many workers and their families

[ZAPHOD2319 4,416]

 

Gilbert Promises ‘Ample Investment’ In Chelsea FC If Bid Is Successful

The announcement that he would sell set off a flurry of interest to purchase the club — around 20 had considered it, Bloomberg reported — which was founded in 1905 and makes its home in west London at Stamford Bridge stadium.

Abramovich paid $197 million for the team in 2003 and it is now believed to be worth $3.2 billion.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Abramovich has made some $2 billion in loans to the club, while revenue during his nearly two-decade tenure as owner has only been about $1.2 billion. Abramovich, the Wall Street Journal says, has said that “he won’t receive any proceeds from the team sale and will forgo the loans that the club owes him.” With bids coming in at approximately $3 billion, it would be among the most expensive sports franchise sales in history.

Bloomberg says European sports teams “tend to be bought for two to four times revenue, which makes them cheaper than their peers among American sports franchises.”

Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Abramovich and Ukrainian negotiators were victims of poisoning during a March 3 Kyiv meeting while attempting to broker a peace deal.

Gilbert, who founded what is now Detroit-based mortgage giant Rocket Companies Inc. (NYSE: RKT), also owns the Cleveland Cavaliers, which won the NBA championship in 2016; the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League; and the Canton Charge of the NBA’s Development League.

Several years ago Gilbert pitched having a Major League Soccer team in Detroit, although that effort never materialized. The MLS campaign also involved Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores and the Ford family, which would have provided space for the team to play at Ford Field.

Prior to purchasing the Cavs, he tried to purchase the Milwaukee Brewers.

In addition to Rocket, Gilbert is Detroit’s most prominent landlord and developer, owning millions of square feet of office, residential, retail, parking and industrial space, largely in downtown but also in other parts of the city.

NBC has reported that the other three bidders are Todd Boehly, owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers; Boston Celtics owner Stephen Pagliuca; and David Blitzer and Josh Harris of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils.

The Ricketts family bid has been controversial because of anti-Muslim comments made by the family patriarch, Joe Ricketts, in emails that were leaked in 2019. Joe Ricketts is reportedly not involved in the offer to buy Chelsea.

Those comments have spurred backlash and members of the Ricketts family met last month with fan groups to address the allegations of Islamophobia, according to Bloomberg, which says New York-based The Raine Group is handling the sale.

Last month, the executive director of Chicago’s Council on American Islamic Relations, told Crain’s Chicago Business that Tom Ricketts, the son of Joe Ricketts, “did not make those statements, and he worked hard to reach out to the community and to show his commitment to inclusion and diversity.”

The Ricketts family would reportedly not own a controlling stake in Chelsea, which won the Champions League last year.

https://fpl360.com/2022/04/11/gilbert-promises-ample-investment-in-Chelsea-fc-if-bid-is-successful/

[MoroccanBlue 5,281]

Yawn. 

These muppets will say anything. 

[LegenTerry 265]

Question for those who are much better inform than me. 

Based on yesterday's performance and how I'm proud on this team and coach, like everyone else, is there any informations about future of the key figures in the club out of the field (Marina ,Cech ,Tuchel etc...) after Roman ? Is there any indications that they will stay or go ?

I Think club was really going in a good direction. Tuchel is a great coach and we play entertaining football under him, with a lot of trophies already, so keeping those people around would be crucial to stay in that direction.

[Superblue 6,370]

24 minutes ago, LegenTerry said:

Question for those who are much better inform than me. 

Based on yesterday's performance and how I'm proud on this team and coach, like everyone else, is there any informations about future of the key figures in the club out of the field (Marina ,Cech ,Tuchel etc...) after Roman ? Is there any indications that they will stay or go ?

I Think club was really going in a good direction. Tuchel is a great coach and we play entertaining football under him, with a lot of trophies already, so keeping those people around would be crucial to stay in that direction.

No one is going to truly know until the new owners come in.

I would expect all of them will want to do everything to keep Tuchel. Unless any of them have been living under a rock, I think they will all see re: Tuchel (1) how successful we've been under his tenure and where we're potentially heading under him, (2) there's nothing better out there (arguably beyond Klopp and Pep there's nothing better full stop whether available or not), (3) he's represented the club on and off the pitch incredibly well in a difficult period, and (4) the fan base love him so replacing or losing him would be a hugely unpopular decision.

With Tuchel in mind, I would also expect them to look at keeping Cech at the club as Tuchel has explained a number of times how helpful it is to have that link between boardroom and the coach but without him having to get involved in things he just doesn't want to like he did at PSG. I don't see any reason why Cech still can't fulfil that role.

Marina will be the one least unsure about. She may not even want to stay under new owners because things will change in the boardroom. I think new owners coming in may well try and see if Marina and Buck can stay short term just to smooth the transition. Marina has the contacts with clubs, agents, etc and it would be easier I think for her to continue to operate in her role negotiating contracts and transfers this close to the summer window. Similarly a new chairman coming in may want to shadow Buck for a few months. I could see them staying initially through the summer and potentially leaving in the autumn or winter next season.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,869]

1 hour ago, LegenTerry said:

Question for those who are much better inform than me. 

Based on yesterday's performance and how I'm proud on this team and coach, like everyone else, is there any informations about future of the key figures in the club out of the field (Marina ,Cech ,Tuchel etc...) after Roman ? Is there any indications that they will stay or go ?

I Think club was really going in a good direction. Tuchel is a great coach and we play entertaining football under him, with a lot of trophies already, so keeping those people around would be crucial to stay in that direction.

I'm only aware of Group Boehly & Group Broughton having said that they want to keep TT. I suspect though that the others have said this too and I just haven't noticed. Surely it would take a special type of stupidity to even contemplate replacing TT and I doubt there are any stupid people involved in the bidding process. I certainly haven't seen any. Some whose world view I can't tolerate but none who are stupid.

[Superblue 6,370]

 

[Strike 7,192]

 

 

[Blues11 213]

On 12/04/2022 at 07:00, Mário César said:

what do you think about him?

Being from Boston I know Steve Pagliuca fairly well. I met him during the championship they won in 2008 and I can say he truly cares about winning. Passionate owner who loves his players.

They care about the fans and aren't afraid to spend to compete. The players love the current Celtics' ownership so I think his reputation here in Boston as an owner is very positive. 

If they were to win the bid I hope that carries over to Chelsea

[Fulham Broadway 16,705]

Abramovich has had more than £5.4bn of his assets frozen in Jersey and 12 luxury properties – including a near-£100m villa on the Riviera that was once the holiday home of King Edward VIII – seized by the French government.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,416]

 

[Vesper 28,347]

23 minutes ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

 

well hell, get Jordan, Lebron, Shaq, Larry Bird, and Kobe's ghost whilst we are at it

😸