Fall Of The Roman Empire: Abramovich's Trophy-laden Chelsea Tenure Began And Ended In Controversy
Roman Abramovich cemented legendary status at Chelsea after completing a clean sweep of trophies at the Club World Cup final in Abu DhabiIt was his 21st major honour in 19 years, during which time he secured Chelsea a seat at European football's top table, while also transforming the Blues into a global sports brand. However, the accusations of close ties to the Kremlin never went away. He was always dogged by claims that he had used 'dirty money' to both buy and fund Chelsea.
Fall of the Roman empire: Abramovich's trophy-laden Chelsea tenure began and ended in controvers
Allegations of close ties to the Kremlin never went away and the Russian decided to sell the club after Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine
Roman Abramovich cemented legendary status at Chelsea after completing a clean sweep of trophies at the Club World Cup final in Abu Dhabi.
After walking onto the pitch at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, he hugged manager Thomas Tuchel and chatted with Cesar Azpilicueta before lifting the trophy high above his head.
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It was his 21st major honour in 19 years, during which time he secured Chelsea a seat at European football's top table, while also transforming the Blues into a global sports brand.
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However, the accusations of close ties to the Kremlin never went away. He was always dogged by claims that he had used 'dirty money' to both buy and fund Chelsea.
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He never managed to outrun his past and eventually it got caught up with him, with Vladimir Putin's invasion of Russia prompting Abramovich to sell the club, meaning his reign began and ended amid controversy.
When the news first broke on March 2, there was an emotional reaction from Chelsea's fanbase, who wanted to praise the main financier of two decades of sparkling success.
However, most of the info used by journalists to write about Abramovich during his time in west London came via off-the-record briefings or even hearsay in some cases.
Indeed, the Russian gave only one interview as Chelsea owner, and even that was with business publication Forbes.
In hindsight, especially given the public profile it would bring me, maybe I would have thought differently about owning a club, Abramovich said.
