Roman Abramovich Is ‘In Talks To Buy New Football Club’ Weeks After Losing Control Of Chelsea
Roman Abramovich has allegedly started exploring the idea of buying a new football club - weeks after losing control of Chelsea.
Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government earlier this month and all his assets have been frozen, with Chelsea operating under a special licence.
The 55-year-old is looking to sell Chelsea and a number of bidders are interested in the reigning European and world champions.
According to Fanatik per The Sun, Abramovich is negotiating to buy Super Lig outfit Goztepe.
Goztepe are 18th in the league and two points behind Altay.
It indicates the billionaire is willing to stay in football after owning Chelsea for 19 years.
He bought the Blues from Ken Bates in 2003 and has transformed them into a dominant force in England and worldwide.
Abramovich was initially hoping to sell Chelsea for £3.5 billion but it'll likely be in the region of £3 billion.
That'll still make Chelsea the most expensive sport franchise in history by quite a distance.
The current record fee for a sport franchise is £2.5 billion, spent by Joseph Tsai to acquire NBA side the Brooklyn Nets in 2019.
Chelsea are currently third in the Premier League and advanced to the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday after defeating Middlesbrough.
Their form hasn't been hindered by the off-field drama and manager Thomas Tuchel believes his players are going from strength to strength.
Some restrictions on Chelsea include being unable to sell matchday tickets and merchandise.
They also can't renew contacts, with defensive trio Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen set to leave on a free as things stand.
"At the moment we work hard for the luck and we always accept that luck is also needed if you want to have a streak of many wins like we have now, but the mentality is good, the quality is good and after the Club World Cup I felt there's more fluidity, more rhythm in training," Tuchel told Chelsea's official website.
"The guys who did not play increase the level to an incredible level in training in the matchday plus one.
"From there I had a good feeling and I'm happy that I was right. We're getting stronger."
Chelsea return to action after the international break against Brentford.
Topics: Chelsea, Roman Abramovich, Russia
Daniel Marland