Roman Abramovich talks about enforced Chelsea sale for first time
Roman Abramovich has given his first interview since his enforced sale of Chelsea for a new book that is being published next month — and told its author that no questions were off limits in their conversations.
The 58-year-old Russian-born billionaire spent many hours with Nick Purewal, the writer of Sanctioned, over two days both this year and last year to give his inside view of the sale of the club.
Abramovich was sanctioned by the British government in March 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine because of his alleged links with Vladimir Putin. Abramovich denies any political connection to Putin. He was allowed to sell the club in May that year to the consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital on the condition that the money raised by the sale would be used to help the victims of the war. However the £2.3billion remains frozen in his company's bank account because of a dispute with the government.
'I interviewed him first in January 2024 in Istanbul and then earlier this year in Abu Dhabi,' Purewal told The Times. 'I spent several hours with him on both occasions.
'He was very open, he didn't make anything off limits in terms of what was asked — though of course he couldn't answer everything and he had to be very delicate with things around the war.
'He was very open, very engaging, very friendly. It is also remarkable that he is quite introverted and quite shy — yet you also get glimpses of why he has been so successful.'
Purewal said that Abramovich also provided insight into how he came to buy Chelsea in the first place in 2003, as well as how the sale of the club unfolded three years ago and how Boehly and Clearlake won the race.
Abramovich would not be drawn on the dispute over the release of the money to help victims of the war, nor would he comment on the Premier League's investigation into alleged irregular payments to agents during the years of his ownership, which were self-reported by the present Chelsea owners after their takeover.
Purewal said the book, which will be published by Biteback Publishing on May 29, is not only about Abramovich but is an 'impartial account' of the takeover based on interviews with more than 50 people, including all the main protagonists in the deal.
The interviews did cover Abramovich's efforts to be a facilitator in peace talks, Purewal said, and provide detail on his suspected poisoning at a meeting on the Ukraine-Belarus border a few weeks after the invasion.
The £2.3billion from the sale of the club remains in a frozen UK bank account belonging to Fordstam Ltd, Abramovich's holding company.
The government has said the dispute is a 'complex legal issue' and the delay has raised questions about what will happen to the money if there is a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia and sanctions are lifted.
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