Roman Abramovich: Chelsea takeover could be announced by Monday

 

Roman Abramovich is now one step closer to agreeing a deal to sell Chelsea and the takeover could be announced very shortly according to reports.

What’s the news?

That’s according to Nicola Imfeld who has been reporting very closely Abramovich’s movements since officially putting the club up for sale towards the back end of this week. The Russian oligarch is in danger of having his assets frozen by the British government and therefore, is keen to sell the Blues as soon as possible.

Fortunately for him, proceedings could be wrapped up as soon as Monday, with Imfeld tweeting a huge update on this developing story on Thursday evening. He initially said:

“I’m told that the American-Swiss consortium with Todd Boehly and Hansjörg Wyss have found other partners. The team is complete! Negotiations with Abramovich are already taking place. He still wants to sell Chelsea quickly.”

Imfeld concluded: “The American-Swiss consortium is confident that progress can be made over the weekend. Already on Monday a deal could be announced. That depends on the negotiations over the weekend. Swiss billionaire Wyss will now fly from Boston to California on Thursday afternoon.”

Fans will be surprised This has been a roller-coaster story ever since it became apparent that Abramovich couldn’t realistically maintain his control of the team. To put things simply, though, this is a football club that has been completely transformed by the Russian who has helped take them from the brink of extinction to a successful winning machine.

Several league titles have been won during his ownership and they have also taken home Europe’s premier competition under the watchful eyes of some of the game’s very best managers.

Therefore, it will come as a shock to learn that the 55-year-old has to see the back of his beloved Chelsea but in the words of the aforementioned Imfeld, the party interested in purchasing the west London side is a ‘surprise’. Further taking to Twitter to provide some background information on the consortium, he commented:

“Some background on Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss for my British friends. He certainly likes sports but has not had a great affinity for football. The fact that he could now be involved in a takeover of Chelsea comes as something of a surprise.”

He added : “Wyss is in this aspect a typical Swiss. Cautious, humble, acting with prudence. He won’t see Chelsea as his toy & open his wallet. It’s certainly not in the identity of Wyss to ‘buy’ the Champions League. Keep in mind though that it‘s not him alone bidding for Chelsea.”

With that in mind, the Stamford Bridge faithful may have to get used to a very different way of life while supporting their team; one where hundreds of millions aren’t likely to be spent on new playing staff in short periods of time.

Instead, a more pragmatic approach might be taken by the new ownership, something that will certainly surprise the fans who have been used to years of consistent spending to take them to the top.