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Due to the ongoing situation between Russia and Ukraine, Roman Abramovich announced on Wednesday, March 3rd, that he was going to sell Chelsea.
This marks the end of an era that started in 2003 when the Russian billionaire bought the club for £150 million. Roman Abramovich's buying of Chelsea propelled the club into Europe's elite, as he went after the highest quality players and managers for the club, regardless of cost.
Roman Abramovich enjoyed a trophy-laden spell as owner of Chelsea
Despite his tendency to fire managers whenever he felt like it, winning trophies became second nature to Chelsea under Roman Abramovich. The club won 21 major titles with him as its owner, including every single competition they took part in.
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The Russian businessman was also praised for his personal interest in the team by players and staff alike. Despite the successes, Roman Abramovich made some choices in his dealings as Chelsea owner that backfired. Here is a list of five such mistakes made by the Russian oligarch.
#5 Appointment of Andre Villas-Boas
When Roman Abramovich appointed Jose Mourinho as manager, the young Portuguese coach had just led FC Porto to UEFA Champions League glory. On Mourinho's coaching staff was a certain young man, Andre Villas-Boas, who would manage Chelsea less than a decade later.
Villas-Boas was only 33 when he led FC Porto to a league, cup and UEFA Europa League treble in 2010-11. This prompted Abramovich to sanction a deal to bring the Portuguese manager to his club.
Chelsea paid a world-record fee of €15 million to sign the young manager, but that proved to be a waste of money. Villas-Boas tried to phase out the team's senior players immediately after he was appointed, leading to unrest in the camp. After a 2-0 defeat to Everton, the players questioned his tactics in the presence of Abramovich, implying that they didn't understand his philosophy.
Villas-Boas did not last a season before he was sacked with Chelsea on the verge of elimination from the UEFA Champions League following a defeat to Napoli. His assistant Roberto Di Matteo took over and led the club to European glory in the same year.
#4 Joining the European Super League
When Chelsea announced that they had agreed to join the break-away European Super League along with a number of top clubs, the fans felt betrayed and came out in protest. They felt that the club had chosen to not consider them in making the decision, and they hit the streets in anger.
This episode made it seem like Roman Abramovich and Chelsea were only after money and had forgotten the club's major stakeholders, the fans. Within hours, the decision was reversed and the club announced that it would not be a part of the Super League.
The Super League saga was the first time that Chelsea's fans felt openly betrayed by the club. The controversy almost soured their season before Thomas Tuchel led them to Champions League glory.
#3 Signing Andriy Shevchenko
A signing that must have hurt Roman Abramovich is the 2006 acquisition of striker Andriy Shevchenko. The club had tried to sign the striker for almost a year before they eventually got their hands on the 2004 Ballon d'Or winner.
Shevchenko was reportedly swayed to sign for Chelsea by his personal relationship with Abramovich, who was ready to pay as much as possible for the striker's services.
Chelsea paid €48.9 millon for the 30-year-old striker with Jose Mourinho as manager. Shevchenko played under Mourinho and Avram Grant before he was deemed surplus to requirements by Luiz Felipe Scolari. He returned to AC Milan on loan in 2008 afterwards before returning briefly at the start of the 2009-10 season before his eventual sale.
Shevchenko scored 22 goals in 77 appearances for Chelsea. His goal tally was nowhere near good enough for Chelsea, considering that he was signed for an English record fee. Like a lot of other strikers, Shevchenko struggled a lot in London and failed to settle in.
#2 Failing to build a stadium
As Roman Abramovich leaves Chelsea, he leaves the club without its own stadium. The club have used the Stamford Bridge stadium almost throughout its history, but it does not own the stadium.
Upon the recognition that a club of Chelsea's pedigree needed a bigger stadium of its own, plans were put in motion in 2014 to build a befitting one. In 2017, London Mayor Sadiq Khan approved of plans to build a 60,000 capacity stadium, but the plug was pulled on the deal when Abramovich's troubles began in 2018. The oligarch withdrew his application to renew his investor visa after delay in the processing of it in light of diplomatic tensions between London and Moscow.
Chelsea planned to finish the stadium in 3-4 years, but decided against embarking on the project when Abramovich was denied access to the country.
According to early reports, potential new owners are reducing their valuation of the club due to the state of its stadium. This may ultimately cause the club to be sold for a lower amount than the asking price.
#1 Firing Carlo Ancelotti
Former AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti was appointed as Chelsea's manager in 2009, replacing Guus Hiddink at the helm of affairs at Stamford Bridge. The Italian enjoyed a good deal of success at the club but was sacked to the surprise of even Chelsea fans.
Ancelotti took over Chelsea in the 2009/10 season and immediately led his side to Premier League glory, becoming the first side to score 100 goals or more in Premier League history. He also secured the FA Cup to give Chelsea its first-ever domestic double. He got the best out of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and other attacking players at the club. In his second season in charge, he led Chelsea to second place behind Manchester United. Ancelotti was sacked mere hours after the final match of the 2010-11 season.
Ancelotti's sacking came as a huge surprise. After his initial success with the club, no one expected the club to let go of him quickly.
