There have been very few owners of football clubs as popular among the fans as Roman Abramovich. Usually, the owners’ name are discussed when the clubs are in turmoil but the Russian billionaire was completely different. More often than not, football fans discussed his name to lavish praise on him for the way he ran Chelsea football club.
His journey with the Blues began in 2003 and in no time, Roman Abramovich ensured that the club became one of the best in the world. Under his ownership, the London-based outfit scaled unprecedented success and won almost every football prize.
Soon after taking charge of Chelsea, he appointed Jose Mourinho as manager in 2004, and the Portuguese coach guided the club to two Premier League titles. Chelsea has not looked back since then. They finally tasted European glory in 2012 by beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League final under the management of Roberto Di Matteo.
In 2021, Chelsea were the European champions once again when they beat Manchester City in the final with Thomas Tuchel as manager. Roman Abramovich was a ruthless owner who never hesitated in taking bold calls for the betterment of the club. He cared little for reputation and used to sack managers as soon as they failed to deliver.
What is Roman Abramovich doing now?
Roman Abramovich’s highly successful association with Chelsea came to an unfortunate end in 2022 as he sold the club in the aftermath of the sanctions imposed by the UK government due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. UK Prime Minister at the time, Boris Johnson, stated that there was clear evidence connecting Abramovich to the Putin regime.
In May of that year, Chelsea Football Club was sold to a consortium co-led by Todd Boehly for a world-record fee of £4.25 billion. Abramovich’s spokesperson announced that the funds from the sale would be designated for charitable purposes through his foundation.
Far away from the glitz of Premier League and Champions League football, Abramovich is now reportedly leading a different lifestyle compared to before. According to the Daily Mirror, he acquired a property in Istanbul’s Anadolu Hisari neighborhood, the city that hosted the recent Champions League final. He has rented it for £40,000 a month and has been living there since last year.
However, when questioned about Abramovich, residents of the area did not provide any information. Although there were rumors of Abramovich considering the purchase of a football club in Istanbul, a spokesperson denied these claims, labeling them as entirely false.
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