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Staveley sorry to see Roman go

The Financial Times Football and Business summit this week was certainly timely.

Roman Abramovich’s purchase of Chelsea back in 2003 changed the face of English football, kick-starting an era in which billionaires and institutional investors buy clubs for status and trophies.

So his decision to sell the team marks the end of an era.   However, those who are hoping for a return to the era of owners like Burnley’s Bob Lord may be disappointed.

The move was widely interpreted as an attempt to head off potential sanctions. Politicians, including Labour leader Keir Starmer, continue to call on the UK government to include Abramovich on its list of Russian targets.

Richard Masters, Premier League chief executive, said the fastest the league has ever approved a takeover is 10 days and there have been suggestions that a possible Swiss-American joint bid could be fast tracked. But he added any approval was unlikely if Abramovich was subject to sanctions.  The Government may be prepared to delay them because they do not want to alienate Chelsea fans, but MPs like Labour’s Chris Bryant are seeking the high moral ground.

Abramovich’s departure could trigger governance changes. Masters said the League is considering changes to its owners and directors test, which determines whether buyers of clubs are suitable.

But Amanda Staveley, the British financier who convinced the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to lead a takeover of Newcastle United last year, told the Pink 'Un she was “sad someone [Abramovich] is going to have a football club taken away because of a link they may have with someone [Vladimir Putin]” .

Staveley, who is a shareholder in Newcastle, is another investor with ties to a controversial political figure. Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince and chair of PIF, has been forced to deny western intelligence reports that he approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

“But,” she noted, “we do have to hold all of our relationships to account.”

I am not a Chelsea fan, but I must say that I find the spectacle of some football fans wishing them harm unedifying.   Admittedly, they have had one of the biggest injection of outside funds of any club (around £1.7bn), but that is not so unusual these days.

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