Roman Abramovich Thread

[manpe 10,857]

I only care about results on the pitch. I don't know anything about any of the bidding parties. Can anybody tell me who, in your opinion, would be the best owner for us in terms of ensuring results in games?

[ZAPHOD2319 3,901]

9 minutes ago, Hermione said:

I read somewhere Saudi one didn't made the cut off and instead that moronic Woody did, seriously hope Bruce drops dead on his feet if he got bribed to accept certain people, there is no way you can't find some of them are complete morons just by the search of a google.

The scary part is Woody is a single owner bid. All his money.

[Vesper 27,382]

18 minutes ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

The scary part is Woody is a single owner bid. All his money.

and he is a SHIT owner, terrible

the Jets have been a laughingstock for ages under him

he just milks them for that New York market captive cash

[Vesper 27,382]

11 hours ago, manpe said:

I only care about results on the pitch. I don't know anything about any of the bidding parties. Can anybody tell me who, in your opinion, would be the best owner for us in terms of ensuring results in games?

Centricus

Todd Boehly 

Nick Candy

Martin Broughton

Saudi Media

 

all 5 of those groups would be fine I think

Centricus looks really good, almost all involved are rabid Chels fans and they have huge backing (tbh, all 5 of those groups do)

Edited March 23, 2022 by Vesper

[Alabama 1,992]

Either Saudi media or Centricus for me... the rest can go fukc all...

[Vesper 27,382]

Chelsea likely to fetch highest price ever paid for a sports team after more than 20 parties make bids

https://theathletic.com/3202316/2022/03/22/Chelsea-likely-to-fetch-highest-price-ever-paid-for-a-sports-team-after-more-than-20-parties-make-bids/

 

Chelsea are likely to fetch the highest price ever paid for a sports club or franchise after more than 20 interested parties made bids for the Premier League side last week.

Current owner Roman Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale on March 2, six days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started. The 55-year-old oligarch appointed New York-based merchant bank Raine Group to run the sales process and it is understood that he was hoping for a figure north of £3.5 billion.

That, however, looked unlikely when he was added to the British government’s list of sanctioned individuals on March 10, due to what it described as his longstanding and close relationship with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin.

With Abramovich sanctioned, Chelsea became a frozen asset. The need for a quick sale — with government involvement — combined with uncertainty about how to value a club who have been so generously subsidised by their owner for 19 years but still needs to redevelop their stadium, led most football finance experts to predict a price tag closer to £2 billion.

But that appears to have underestimated the global interest in buying the reigning and European and world champions, and it now seems the club’s many suitors will have to raise their bids closer to £3 billion ($4 billion) — a sum that would easily beat the $3.35 billion (£2.5 billion) Joseph Tsai paid for the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and the Barclays Center home arena in 2019.

That is the largest cheque ever written for a sports franchise until now, with the next biggest deals — baseball’s New York Mets, Houston Rockets of the NBA and NFL franchise the Carolina Panthers — grouped around the $2 billion mark.

The highest price ever paid for a football team is still the £790 million the Glazer family spent buying Manchester United shares between 2003 and 2005.

The Athletic understands bids for Chelsea were still arriving over the weekend, despite Raine setting a deadline of 9pm UK time on Friday. None of those offers, however, are considered to be a credible option, given the scale of the transaction and the unprecedented circumstances of the sale.

Raine is aiming to whittle down the bidders to a shortlist of three or four by the end of this week. Those parties will then be invited to make improved final offers, with a winner chosen by the second week in April.

The bank will then ask the UK government for a second licence — an exemption from the UK’s sanctions rules — to allow the sale of the asset. This effectively gives the Foreign Office and Treasury a veto over the deal, another complicating factor in the process.

That said, the government has already made it clear it does not want to see Chelsea go out of business, so a quick but orderly change of ownership is the desired outcome.

Chelsea are not a confiscated asset, though, so Abramovich still has a say in the process and it is understood Raine has been instructed to select the best bid, not necessarily the biggest, with the Russian wanting Chelsea to go to a group or individual with a proven track record, a vision for the club and easy access to funds.

As Abramovich is currently banned from benefiting from the sale, the proceeds will initially go into a frozen bank account. What happens after that, though, is the subject of some debate.

When he announced he was selling the club, Abramovich said he wanted the “net proceeds” to go to a foundation he would set up for the victims of the war in Ukraine.

The British government wants that, too, but is unlikely to let Abramovich decide how that money is allocated, so there is still uncertainty about how the money raised from this sale will be used.

It is possible it could sit in a frozen account, accruing interest, until Abramovich’s sanctions are lifted, although The Athletic understands his intention is still to give the money away. He has already said he is writing off the £1.5 billion he has pumped into Chelsea in soft loans since 2003.

If all goes to plan, Chelsea could be under new ownership by May.

In terms of who that might be, there are four bids that appear to have the inside track. They are the syndicate of investors assembled by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly; a bid led by the Ricketts family, who own the Dodgers’ fellow baseball club Chicago Cubs; an Anglo-American group involving Sir Martin Broughton and Crystal Palace co-owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer; and an offer from NFL side New York Jets’ owner Woody Johnson.

Others with a chance of making the shortlist include a bid funded by British private equity firm Centricus and one led by British property developer Nick Candy, who is backed by South Korean investors. A bid from the Saudi Media Group is not considered to be among the frontrunners.

Those who have no chance of success include several groups who put in bids based on turning Chelsea into a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) — an ownership concept based on blockchain technology.

One of these groups has told The Athletic it wants to create “the ChelseaVerse”, with fans around the world encouraged to buy tokens that would give them a say on club matters, discounts and access to unique video content.

The leaders of this particular group include two former footballers based in the US and they are backed by a leading global hospitality and leisure brand. They have asked to remain anonymous at this point and that is how they will probably stay, as neither Raine nor the UK government is likely to entertain something as radical or unproven as this for Chelsea.

 

[ZAPHOD2319 3,901]

23 minutes ago, Vesper said:

and he is a SHIT owner, terrible

the Jets have been a laughingstock for ages under him

he just milks them for that New York market captive cash

He was also the UK Ambassador, he has connections in the UK government and you know he will grease their palms.

[Fulham Broadway 16,423]

The Ricketts can fuck the fuck off

[Thor 2,161]

6 hours ago, Vesper said:

I do NOT want either the Ricketts or Woody Johnson (and he is not even in a consortium, thus at 'only' around £4bn total net worth, he is not nearly wealthy enough)
both have run their teams (Chicago Cubs and the NY Jets, respectively) like shit, especially Johnson, who would be a fucking disaster
and they are all (except for one of the Ricketts women) RW Trumpian lickspittles

I could care less who they support politically. Everyone is allowed their choice there. 

 

They seem to have a terrible track record running organisations, hence it is a no from me if possible. 

[ZAPHOD2319 3,901]

My twitter is a read only for the most part about football. The 4 followers I have must be thinking wtf is Dave twitting #NoToRitters 20 times a day about. They are actually responses to all articles on my feed I read about Chelsea FC

[bigbluewillie 1,808]

13 hours ago, MoroccanBlue said:

In fear of fan outrage, I can't see the club agreeing the sale to the Ricketts. 

God I hope you're right mate.

[bigbluewillie 1,808]

13 hours ago, Vesper said:

IF the Ricketts buy us, there is a decent chance I stop supporting the club.

Dead serious.

I cannot stress how ACTIVELY RW, racist, homophobic, misogynistic, xenophobic, pro rentier/rapacious capitalism, pro christo-fascist that family is, and they contribute millions to help spread it politically in the United States. Nebraska  Governor Pete Ricketts is one of the most RW state governors in the US.

All the decades of hard work that Roman did to support inclusiveness, oppose hate and racism, etc, will be put at risk. 

Just putting this out there so all know where I stand, and how serious I am.

 

We don't wanna lose you Vesp.

Getting that family here as owners will be a real "ricket"🙃

[lucio 5,418]

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 

[Vesper 27,382]

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 27,382]

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 846]

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 27,382]

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 27,382]

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.