Roman Abramovich Only Let Two Chelsea Players Use His Ultra-Expensive Yachts

Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich only let two players use his ultra-expensive yachts.

Abramovich took over Chelsea in 2003 and turned them into one of European football's biggest powerhouses.

The Russian oligarch redefined the transfer market in English football, splashing out on a series of major transfers including a British record £30 million move for striker Andriy Shevchenko.

Under Abramovich's reign, Chelsea won 21 major trophies, including two Champions League titles and five Premier Leagues.

In 2022, he was forced to sell the club following Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine earlier that year.

The UK Prime Minister at the time, Boris Johnson, said that his government had obtained 'clear evidence' that Abramovich was 'connected to the Vladimir Putin regime'.

He subsequently agreed to sell Chelsea to Clearlake Capital, a consortium co-led by Todd Boehly, for a world record fee of £4.25 billion. The funds were 'earmarked for [a charitable] Foundation', as per a spokesperson for Abramovich.

The current UK government stated in July that they were prepared legal action against Abramovich in an attempt to force the Russian to release £2.5 billion in frozen funds from the sale.

But a spokesperson for the Russian claimed earlier this month: "No actions in relation to the frozen funds are possible to make without the government's approval. The UK government has not proposed any legal solution to this current situation."

Details about his activities since then have been scarce, with the Daily Mirror reporting in 2023 that he had acquired a property in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

It was also claimed that two of his yachts had been moored 'several hundred miles south' of England, according to marine tracking data.

His most expensive super-yacht is called Eclipse, for which he reportedly paid $700 million to purchase.

The Russian also owns Solaris, which comes in at the slightly lower figure of $600 million.

Speaking on the 'Obi One' podcast alongside ex-Chelsea captain John Terry, former Blues midfielder John Obi Mikel noted that only Terry was one of only two players that were allowed on Abramovich's yachts during his time at Stamford Bridge.

He said: "This guy [pointing at Terry] used to get the yachts... he used to borrow the yachts, to go on holiday! Only him, yeah. Only the skipper."

Terry replied: "Only me and Lamps [Frank Lampard]. It only happened one season though!"

The former England defender continued: "I think everyone had a really good relationship with him. One of the nicest people you could ever meet in your life, in terms of giving us the best foundation.

"The old training ground was an absolute s**thole. And he came in and was like, 'No, we're not training here'. And very shortly after that, we bought Cobham, and he turned it into what it is today.

"Giving us opportunities like that, to perform on the best pitches, best facilities, best staff, improvements on the stadium, all of that.

"He was invested in you guys [the fans] as well. The amount of conversations he would come to us and go, 'We're paying for the supporters to travel to Bolton this weekend, because it's after a Champions League game'. That happened quite a lot under Roman. He was invested in that."