Chelsea chiefs will be sad to see Roman Abramovich leave the club once he inevitably sells the Blues as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine. And his departure could see three prominent figures also leave in a radical change-up at Stamford Bridge.
Abramovich, 55, took over Chelsea in 2003 after buying the club for £140million from Ken Bates.
Within just three years at the helm, Abramovich had already won two Premier League titles and established Chelsea as the new powerhouse of English football.
Since then, the club have won a further three Premier Leagues and two Champions League titles, cementing their status as one of the biggest and best clubs in the world.
Of course, their superb recruitment has helped them to realise the potential that Abramovich gave them.
But Abramovich’s imminent exit could have huge ramifications across the club according to The Athletic, who say that club sources are wary that if the Russian departs, his recruitment staff may follow suit.
The report states that sources in and around Stamford Bridge fear that transfer chief Marina Granovskaia may leave the club should Abramovich sell up, which could hinder their chances of further success in the market.
Granovskaia has been pivotal to Chelsea’s success, both masterminding a youth academy that is arguably the most self-sustainable in the world and assembling a squad that became champions of the world just last month.
Elsewhere it is believed that chairman Bruce Buck may leave the club, with the American having held his role for 18 years.
And to top off the bad news, Petr Cech may leave his technical and performance analysis role in west London.
Of course the Russian-Ukraine conflict is the main reason for Abramovich’s sale after tensions rose to an untenable high in east Europe.
And manager Thomas Tuchel condemned his fans for chanting Abramovich’s name in the 4-0 win at Burnley.
Whilst home fans stood and clapped for Ukraine in unison, Chelsea sang the name of their Russian owner, who allegedly has links to president Vladimir Putin.
“If we show solidarity we show solidarity and we should do it together,” Tuchel fumed.
“We take the knee together. If an important person from our club or another club unfortunately dies we have a minute of respect.
“It is not the moment to give other messages. It’s the moment to show respect. We want to do this. As a club we need our fans to commit to this minute of applause.
“We do it for Ukraine and there is no second opinion about this situation. They have our thoughts and our support and we should stand together.”
Chelsea currently sit third in the Premier League on 54 points, six ahead of Manchester United in fifth as they look to secure Champions League football once again having dropped out of the title race.
