Abramovich Puts Chelsea On Sale For £2 Billion?

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has hired New York bank Raine Group in preparation for selling off the club, according to The Sunday Times.

The bank is said to have valued the club at £2billion and Chelsea have engaged their advisors after they helped Manchester City sell a 13 per cent stake in the club to China Media Capital for £265m in 2015.

It is unclear whether they would look for new owners or to sell a stake in the club which Abramovich bought for £140m in 2003 but the move comes at a critical time for Chelsea, who look overwhelmed by the scale of the wealth of clubs such as Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain.

 In May, following the political sanctions Great Britain imposed on Russia in response to the Salisbury poisoning, Chelsea announced that Abramovich was putting off a proposed £500m expansion of Stamford Bridge.

They have failed to qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three years, having previously qualified for the competition every year since Abramovich took over.

They have also still to convince Eden Hazard to sign a new contract or risk having to sell him to Real Madrid next summer when he will have just one more year on his deal.

Chelsea need to rebuild the team under new manager Maurizio Sarri after having allowed talents such as Mo Salah, Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku to leave the club in recent years.

However, latest reports say...

Chelsea have reportedly denied rumours that Roman Abramovich has put up for sale.

News broke on Sunday morning that the Blues had been listed on the market, with mega-rich foreign investors being alerted to the situation. Abramovich was thought to be hoping to secure a world-record sale for the football club he has owned since 2003.

Naturally, this news was met with concern from Chelsea fans. Abramovich loves the club and has proven both the affection and respect he has for the supporters throughout his 15-year tenure. A new owner couldn’t guarantee that.

Our fears may have been premature. Simon Johnson has reported that he has been informed by the club that Abramovich has no intention of selling and there is no truth to the speculation.

We may never know the full story. Abramovich is an incredibly private man and will not speak out about any reports in the press. For now, we’ll assume that he remains fully committed to the task at hand at Stamford Bridge.

What do you think?