Chelsea legends, John Obi Mikel and John Terry, have leapt to the defence of the club’s former owner Roman Abramovich and hit out at the treatment he has received in recent years.
Russian oligarch, Abramovich, 58, owned the Blues from 2003 to 2022 and oversaw a trophy-laden period as the west London side became one of the biggest clubs in the world under his watch.
However, after the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, he sold Chelsea amid links to Russian president Vladimir Putin. He was similarly sanctioned by the UK government and disqualified as a director of the club by the Premier League.
A sale was eventually completed in May 2022 to the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium, with the £2.5billion proceeds placed into a frozen UK bank account in order to be donated to charities supporting victims of the war in Ukraine, although these funds are yet to be released.
Over the past three-and-a-half years, Abramovich has subsequently stayed off radar and largely withdrawn from public life. And Terry, who was Chelsea captain and a key player for much of Abramovich’s time at the club, hit out at how the 58-year-old has been treated.
“I think it’s disgusting what’s happened to him,’ Terry said at a live show of The Obi One podcast which is co-hosted by former Blues midfielder John Obi Mikel.
Terry, whose comments were cheered and clapped by those in attendance, continued: ‘What he did in lockdown and what he did for the NHS was sensational, opening up Stamford Bridge to all the nurses and giving people homes during that difficult time.
“He was just a lovely, lovely man who loved our football club and thankfully turned away from one other football club and made the right decision to come to us.’
Terry’s later comment was in relation to Abramovich being linked with a takeover at Tottenham before he took the plunge at Chelsea, and his sentiments were echoed by Mikel, who reflected on one poignant example.
“Roman was the guy,” the Nigerian began. “He cared about everyone; players, fans as well. I remember when my dad got kidnapped and I got a phone call from him.
“He just cared and spoke to me: “Mikel what do you need, do you need anything, do you know how you can get your dad back? I said: “I don’t know I haven’t spoken to the kidnappers yet”. He said: “OK, listen, with your permission, give me 24 hours, I will go and bring your dad back home”.
“And I was thinking “f***ing hell Roman he’s in f***ing Nigeria, you don’t know where he is, how the f*** will you get him back”, and he was like “don’t worry, I’ll get him back”. That is the gangster s***.
“It was just that standard of how he loved the players, his players, and the football club. “Who we are today is because of Roman, we are Chelsea Football Club. We’ve won so many trophies, we are one of biggest clubs in world now and it’s all down to Roman Abramovich.” Mikel’s comments were met with another round of applause from those in attendance.
Meanwhile, back in June as part of a new book called Sanctioned: The Inside Story of the Sale of Chelsea FC, Abramovich spoke for the first time since he was forced to sell the club.
When asked on Chelsea and the future, Abramovich said: “Perhaps one day there would be a situation where I could attend a match and say a proper goodbye, but nothing more than that.
“I don’t have any interest in any role in a football club, certainly not a professional role.
“There might be something where I could help with academies and youngsters, giving greater opportunities to people from difficult backgrounds, if there were an initiative that could make a difference.
“But as for ownership or a professional role at a club, I am done with that in this lifetime.”Abramovich also said he would not allow himself to be distracted by the accusations towards him, including from the UK government.
“There is an old Russian saying, “The dogs bark but the caravan keeps moving,” and that fits here,’ he also told the book’s author, Nick Purewal.
“Whatever I do, people will always accuse me of some kind of agenda. In the end, I have done what I have done simply to try to help.”
Culled from dailymail.co.uk
