Roman Abramovich bids emotional goodbye to Chelsea; 'This is the legacy which we created'

Former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich bid an emotional farewell to the club on Saturday, leaving an incredible legacy in his 19 years reign. The Russian oil mogul believes that the club has found the right custodian to lead the side in the future, keeping in mind the goal of continuing to achieve success with both the men's and women's teams.

Roman Abramovich bids farewell to Chelsea FC

Chelsea FC released a statement on Roman Abramovich's behalf on Saturday as the Russian oligarch bid farewell to the club. The statement read,

"It has been nearly three months since I announced my intention to sell Chelsea FC. During this time, the team have worked hard to find the right custodian for Chelsea FC that would be best positioned to successfully lead the Club into its next chapter. 

The ownership of this Club comes with great responsibility. Since I came to Chelsea nearly twenty years ago, I have witnessed first-hand what this Club can achieve. My goal has been to ensure that the next owner has a mindset that will enable success for the Men’s and Women’s teams, as well as the will and drive to continue developing other key aspects of the Club, such as the Academy and the vital work of Chelsea Foundation. 

I am pleased this search has now come to a successful conclusion. As I hand over Chelsea to its new custodians, I would like to wish them the best of success, both on and off the pitch. 

It has been an honour of a lifetime to be a part of this Club – I would like to thank all the Club’s past and current players, staff, and of course fans for these incredible years.

I am proud that as a result of our joint successes, millions of people will now benefit from the new charitable foundation which is being established. This is the legacy which we have created together."

Chelsea FC's sale is expected to be completed soon

The sale of Premier League club Chelsea is expected to be completed Monday after a “final and definitive" agreement was reached with the consortium fronted by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly.

The club said Saturday that “a final and definitive agreement was entered into last night” to sell to the Boehly and Clearlake Capital consortium. The price is 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) — the highest ever for a sports team.

“It is expected that the transaction will be completed on Monday,” the club said.

The announcement followed a series of approvals allowing Roman Abramovich to sell after he was sanctioned over his links to Russian President Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine. Abramovich has owned the club for 19 years.

The British government, which had sanctioned Abramovich, approved the sale this week after ensuring that the Russian oligarch could not profit from it. The Premier League had earlier given its approval.

Chelsea has been operating under a government license since Abramovich’s assets were frozen in March and it expires Tuesday.

(Inputs from AP)