“Chelsea and big numbers. A tale as old as, well, at least 23 years. When Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago, Roman Abramovich’s proximity to Vladimir Putin and the Russian war effort resulted in Chelsea’s then owner being sanctioned, his assets frozen and the club marooned. Without the backing of the man whose funds had fuelled them since 2003, Chelsea could not sell tickets or merchandise, or take part in football’s bustling transfer market. Cash flow became a heightened concern. Not so since. Abramovich was replaced by a private equity-backed consortium, BlueCo, who, alongside paying £2.35billion ($2.97bn) in cash for the club and £49.8m ($63m) to former Chelsea directors for their roles in facilitating the sale, also committed to investing a further £1.7bn ($2.1bn) into the club. …”
NY Times/The Athletic