FREE TRANSFER
Roman Abramovich urged to give Chelsea away for FREE as club’s credit cards are frozen
CHELSEA’S credit cards were frozen yesterday amid mounting pressure on Roman Abramovich to give the club away for free.
Bankers temporarily suspended the corporate cards in a “risk averse” response to UK sanctions slapped on Putin’s pal.
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Chelsea is haemorrhaging cash after the club was banned from selling tickets and merchandise — and telecom firm sponsors Three pulled out of their £40million-a-year deal.
And with a £28million-a-month wage bill, the team has reportedly just over two weeks to find a new buyer or go into administration.
The Government said it is prepared to approve the 117-year-old club’s sale as long as Abramovich does not receive a penny. If he refuses and sits on the club, fans fear the five-time Premier League winners will quickly go bust.
Culture and Sport minister Chris Philp said: “As the Government licence conditions are written today, the sale would not be allowed.
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“If a buyer emerged then it would be open to them, or the club, to approach the Government and ask for the conditions to be varied to allow a sale. But to be clear, no proposal would be accepted which saw the proceeds of any sale ending up in an unrestricted bank account owned by Abramovich.”
Mr Philp suggested Abramovich was not sanctioned earlier because his lawyers would have tried to block the move. He said: “These oligarchs are potentially very litigious so it is important to make sure that the case is watertight.”
Dan Silver, of the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust, said: “If he truly does care then he’ll walk away.
“He’s got two options. He can fight the Government, potentially spelling the end for Chelsea, or he can stay true to his word and prove it’s about love and about football.”
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It is understood Chelsea will miss out on £600,000 per match day.
Kit makers Nike are said to be considering ending their £900m deal.
It remains unclear what happens to the cash if there is a sale, with some saying it should go to Ukrainian refugees fleeing Putin’s forces.
Julian Knight, Tory MP and chairman of the select committee for sport, said: “Abramovich claims to be this great fan of Chelsea. Well if he is he needs to get a million miles away from the club now.” He said the crisis could prove a “seminal moment” if it sparks a debate over top clubs’ ownership.
Chelsea met officials from the Department for Media and Sport and Treasury yesterday.
The club wants changes to the licence so it can raise and spend more. And insiders say the £20,000 cap on travel to fixtures is too low.
The Sun understands ministers are open to changing the cap. But the Government quashed hopes of lifting the merchandise sales ban.
The credit cards were temporarily frozen while banks worked out implications of the sanctions.
It is understood that Barclaycard suspended their account because it did not want to be found to be in breach of the licence.
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