Roman Abramovich has been in charge of Chelsea for ten years. It’s been a good decade for Chelsea fans and it needs to remembered that before he took over they were struggling financially with the club’s publicly traded debt selling at 60p to the pound.
Roman Abramovich has been in charge of Chelsea for ten years. It’s been a good decade for Chelsea fans and it needs to remembered that before he took over they were struggling financially with the club’s publicly traded debt selling at 60p to the pound.
The rules of engagement have changed in an era of financial fair play. But that has its benefits for Chelsea as they can pull up the ladder behind them.
Chelsea’s fortunes on the pitch have been transformed, but the impact on the wider game is more controversial. Writing in The Times today, Matt Dickinson delivers a familiar verdict: ‘Abramovich has driven modern Premier League trends of foreign stars, foreign coaches, unjustifiable sackings, soaring wages, transfer inflation and the certainty that money is central to success. A wealthy foreign owner has become the norm.’
The Premier League certainly offers a spectacle, one that is well adapted to television and indeed to social media. But the sepia tinged past was far from a golden age. Globalisation was going to affect football one way or another.
Moreover, Abramovich has not just spent to achieve short-term success, but has invested in the future. He has built first-class training facilities and established one of the best youth development programmes in Europe.