Swiss business tycoon Hansjoerg Wyss is considering buying Champions League-winning soccer club Chelsea, having been approached by agents acting on behalf of its Russian owner Roman Abramovich.
Wyss told Swiss newspaper Blick that Abramovich – who was discussed in the UK parliament on Wednesday as debate rages over how to sanction Russian businesses and their owners – is “panicked” and looking to divest his British interests.
“Abramovich is among Putin’s closest advisers and friends,” Wyss told Blick. “Like all the other oligarchs, he is panicked. Abramovich is currently trying to sell all his villas in England. He also wants to get rid of Chelsea quickly. Along with three other people, I received an offer on Tuesday to buy Chelsea from Abramovich.”
Wyss, who is 86, is one of Switzerland’s richest men. He made his fortune through founding the U.S. branch of the Swiss firm Synthes, which made medical screws and plates for broken bones. In 2012, Wyss sold the company to Johnson & Johnson for $19.7 billion.
However, he feels the price he was quoted for Chelsea FC is too high. In 2003 Abramovich bought the London club, then struggling under around $130m of debt, for $233m. Since then, he has spent lavishly: according to a study by Switzerland-based independent research group CIES Football Observatory, Chelsea has spent $1.83 billion in transfer fees in the last decade alone – second only to Manchester City.
Roman Abramovich has owned Chelsea FC for more than 18 years – but he could be selling up soon. /Ben Stansall/AFP
“I have to wait four or five days,” said Wyss. “Abramovich is asking too much right now. Chelsea owes him £2 billion ($2.7 billion), but Chelsea has no money. This means that those who buy Chelsea must compensate Abramovich.
“We do not yet know the exact sale price. I can very well imagine myself joining Chelsea with partners. First I have to look carefully at the conditions. I certainly wouldn’t do such a thing alone. If I buy Chelsea, it will be with a consortium of six to seven investors.”
Stewardship and Sanctions
Abramovich, 55, who has Israeli citizenship, was one of the most powerful businessmen who earned fabulous fortunes after the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union. Forbes has gauged his net worth at $13.3 billion.
A commodity trader who thrived in the post-Soviet reorganization of the early 1990s under President Boris Yeltsin, Abramovich acquired stakes in the Sibneft oil company, aluminum producer Rusal and Aeroflot airline that were later sold.
Under President Vladimir Putin, Abramovich served as governor of the remote Arctic region of Chukotka in Russia’s far east. Since he bought Chelsea FC, the club has won the Premier League five times, the FA Cup five times and the Champions League twice – most recently last year. Just last month, the players added the Club World Cup by beating South American champion Palmeiras in the United Arab Emirates.
Global champions: Chelsea players show off the Club World Cup trophy. /David Klein/Reuters
On Saturday, Abramovich announced that he intended to hand over “stewardship and care” of the club to the trustees of Chelsea’s charitable Foundation. However, legal experts say this transfer of power could be difficult to carry out. Abramovich remains the club owner, and the statement gave no details of how the arrangement would work.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was asked directly in parliament on Wednesday whether the government would impose sanctions on Abramovich, whom opposition leader Keir Starmer said is “a person of interest to the Home Office (interior ministry) because of his links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices.
“Last week, the prime minister said that Abramovich is facing sanctions,” Starmer continued. “He later corrected the record to say that he isn’t. Well, why on earth isn’t he?”
“It’s not appropriate for me to comment on individual cases at this stage,” Johnson replied. “But be in no doubt that the actions that we’ve already taken… are having an effect in Moscow by exposing the ownership of properties of companies in the way that we are.”
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