Chelsea Owner Roman Abramovich Hands 'Stewardship And Care' Of The Club To Its Charitable Foundation

Roman Abramovich has handed over "stewardship and care" of Chelsea to trustees of the club's charitable foundation.

It comes after Labour MP Chris Bryant called for the Russian billionaire to be prevented from owning the Premier League club, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Bryant called on the UK government to seize assets from Abramovich, using his parliamentary privilege to claim he had seen details from a leaked Home Office document from 2019 that had expressed concerns about alleged links between the Chelsea owner and the Russian state.

Abramovich has owned Chelsea since 2003 (Image: PA)

Abramovich, who has owned Chelsea since 2003, has denied having links with the Kremlin.

The Russian released a statement on the club's website on Saturday, which read: “During my nearly 20-year ownership of Chelsea FC, I have always viewed my role as a custodian of the Club, whose job it is ensuring that we are as successful as we can be today, as well as build for the future, while also playing a positive role in our communities.

“I have always taken decisions with the Club’s best interest at heart.

Abramovich’s daughter Sofia posted this image on Instagram this week (Image: Instagram))

“I remain committed to these values. That is why I am today giving trustees of Chelsea’s charitable Foundation the stewardship and care of Chelsea FC.

“I believe that currently they are in the best position to look after the interests of the Club, players, staff, and fans.”

The six trustees who are now in control of Chelsea are understood to be chairman Bruce Buck, women's head coach Emma Hayes, head of the National Lottery Sir Hugh Robertson, director of finance Paul Ramos, Piara Powar and John Devine, according to the Daily Mirror.

Abramovich’s statement comes on the eve of the Carabao Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley.

It is not yet clear if the Russian plans to sell the Premier League club, which has been valued at around £1.6bn.

Earlier this week, Abramovich’s daughter Sofia posted an anti-Vladimir Putin meme on Instagram following the invasion of Ukraine.

The image included the phrase 'Russia wants a war with Ukraine', with 'Russia' crossed out and replaced with 'Putin'.

It also featured the sentence: “The biggest and most successful lie of Kremlin's propaganda is that most Russians stand with Putin.”

The Russian President has pressed forward with a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine despite widespread condemnation from abroad.