When you think about football club takeovers, you usually imagine intense negotiations over transfer fees or sponsorship deals.
But the story behind Chelsea FC’s sale after Roman Abramovich’s sanctions is anything but typical.
It involved a looming government deadline, a minibus chauffeur-turned-manager, and even a prized Tour de France-winning bike — all playing unexpected roles in a high-stakes drama at Stamford Bridge.
The Deadline No One Wanted to Face
Back in early 2022, Chelsea found itself in uncharted waters.
The UK Government set a hard deadline of May 31 for Abramovich’s Chelsea to be sold — or else.
Marina Granovskaia, Abramovich’s trusted aide, wasn’t convinced the government would actually let one of football’s biggest clubs disappear overnight.
She believed the timeline was unrealistic for a deal of this size, which would normally take around a year to complete due diligence.
Despite her bold confidence, not everyone at Chelsea shared her views.
Some insiders say government officials were ready to see the club go under rather than rush a sale.
This was no simple negotiation like when Granovskaia famously brought Fernando Torres to Chelsea in 2011.
The stakes were much higher — failure could mean the complete collapse of Chelsea FC.
Racing Against Time with 20-Hour Days
Realizing the danger, the Chelsea team went into overdrive, working up to 20 hours a day to meet the government’s deadline.
The club had less than three months to ensure it didn’t vanish from the footballing map.
This frantic period is documented in detail in the new book Sanctioned: The Inside Story of the Sale of Chelsea FC by Nick Purewal, which offers an insider’s view of the tense negotiations.
Roman Abramovich broke his silence in the book, giving interviews in Istanbul and Abu Dhabi.
While he doesn’t speak at length, the book portrays him as a peacemaker trying to navigate war-torn Ukraine and broker peace — even as his football empire was on the brink.
Abramovich’s Dangerous Mission in Ukraine
One dramatic episode in the book reveals Abramovich traveling through conflict zones in Ukraine by convoy, with gunfire and rocket attacks as his backdrop.
During one visit to Kyiv, he suffered mysterious poisoning symptoms — losing his sight temporarily and enduring hair loss and skin peeling.
The timing coincided with Chelsea preparing for an FA Cup match against Luton on March 2, 2022.
Shock Announcement Sends Chelsea into Turmoil
Abramovich’s decision to sell was announced suddenly and without warning.
Two of his aides reportedly drafted the statement on the floor of Heathrow Airport, pledging to donate sale proceeds to Ukraine war victims — a promise still debated today.
Chelsea’s players and coaches were caught off guard.
Petr Cech, working in an executive role, gave a heartfelt speech urging the team to focus on what they could control — starting with a vital 3-2 win over Luton.
Coaches Thomas Tuchel and Emma Hayes handled the pressure with grace, even managing logistics challenges like Tuchel offering to drive the players himself to away games when the government capped away-day spending at £20,000.
Behind the Scenes: Zelensky and the Sanctions
It’s also revealed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky privately urged the UK not to sanction Abramovich, recognizing his behind-the-scenes efforts to secure humanitarian corridors in places like Mariupol.
Still, sanctions were imposed, isolating Abramovich from his assets — including a unique Tour de France bike gifted by Abu Dhabi royals, which became inaccessible due to restrictions.
Football’s War Language Takes on New Meaning
Football has always been full of war metaphors — battles, blitzes, war cries — but reading the detailed story of Chelsea almost becoming collateral damage in an international conflict puts those words in a sobering new light.
The Race to Sell Chelsea and the Final Bidders
The American bank Raine managed Chelsea’s sale process.
They sifted through 280 expressions of interest, narrowing the field down to three bidders after intense negotiations.
Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital emerged as winners, beating out Sir Jim Ratcliffe, whose dramatic last-minute bid didn’t impress Chelsea’s board.
Had Boehly and Clearlake pulled out, the club might have faced ruin.
After the takeover, Boehly’s first call to Chelsea was surprisingly football-related — from Romelu Lukaku’s representatives, making it clear the striker would not stay.
A Return to Normality Amid Chaos
After months of uncertainty, that call from Lukaku’s camp was oddly comforting.
It symbolized a return to football business as usual — the kind of stability Chelsea desperately needed after a year of upheaval that threatened the very existence of one of England’s most storied clubs.