So, good old Roman has bailed the club out again. As we know, last year, our Russian owner halved the club’s debt when he turned 50 per cent of his interest-free loans into shares. Turns out though, that for Christmas this year, he’s only gone and done it again. So that’s a £340million debt blown off.
Nice work you’d think? Well, I suppose there’s two schools of thought on this one.
On the one hand, there’s the idea that this is further proof of Abramovich’s commitment to Chelsea. I mean, the man’s shelled out over £700million on us now, making sure we won’t fall outside any new rules Fifa or Uefa decide to introduce around debt. This is certainly something Bruce Buck echoes by saying “The club’s debt load has been reduced almost to nil in order to provide more long-term stability for the club. The reduction will also enable the club to comply with any regulations on debt levels which are being discussed by the football community.”
And Abramovich has definitely showed he’s taking our financial affairs a lot more seriously with the reduction in spending – both in terms of players and hangers-on in the last couple of years. Losses announced by the club reflect this as well and with his latest outlay ensuring the club’s financial security, a statement from Chelsea confirms it “demonstrates the continuing commitment from the shareholder to the group”.
However, the flip side to this is that, with it often suggested in the past that Abramovich’s departure would crucify Chelsea as a club – he could just be making sure he doesn’t make himself the bad guy if he really has had enough of life at Stamford Bridge? Or more realistically still, is making Chelsea a more attractive proposition for potential buyers?
Which one’s your money on?
Blue is the colour
