Why Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003

Former Chelsea coach Claudio Ranieri in a recent statement, has revealed why Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the EPL club in 2003.

According to Ranieri, Abramovich bought Chelsea because they qualified for the Champions League on the last day of the championship by defeating Liverpool.

The former Blues manager said if the West London side had not achieved that goal, the Russian billionaire might not have completed the deal that saw him become the club owner.

However, things have been different in 2022, where Abramovich is being forced to sell Chelsea owing to his ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“He [Abramovich] was young and enthusiastic. He was like a kid in the playground. He was very present,” Ranieri was quoted by Skportskeeda as saying.

“He often came to the games and sometimes traveled in his private plane after returning from a trip. He bought Chelsea because we had qualified for the Champions League on the last day of the championship, beating Liverpool. If we hadn’t achieved that goal, the Blues’ story would have been different.”

He added, “Nobody should have cared in theory because at the time Putin was in the Russian presidency and the general situation was very different from the current one. This war, horrible like all wars, forces us to reflect.”

“This issue raises some questions and I imagine there will be stricter rules on clubs than are in place, for example, in the Premier League.”