New concerns for Chelsea as sale ‘hits huge obstacle’

Chelsea’s sale threw into doubt as Roman Abramovich demands the loan to be repaid.

Chelsea’s sale has apparently encountered a stumbling block, with previous owner Roman Abramovich seeking to reclaim a £1.6 billion loan to the club.

According to the Times Sport, Chelsea has told the UK Government, who is in charge of organising the sale, that they want to reform the way the club is sold.

Advertisement

The current proposal appears to entail repaying a Jersey-based business called Camberley International Investments, which appears to have ties to Abramovich, for a debt owed by Chelsea’s parent company, Fordstram Ltd. With Abramovich’s assets in the UK frozen by the government because of his ties to Vladimir Putin, there are now serious reservations about permitting that to happen. “I will not be asking for any loans to be returned,” Abramovich stated last month when he put Chelsea up for sale.

The proceeds from the Chelsea sale were to be used to support Ukrainian refugees as well as to invest in local grassroots football in west London, according to initial reports.

Last week, it was thought that a US group led by Todd Boehly, co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball franchise, was in line to take over Stamford Bridge.