STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF OWNER 

Posted on: Sun 18 Jan 2009

Defamation proceedings will be commenced tomorrow (Monday) in London by Roman Abramovich against the publishers of The Sunday Times. 

This follows the publication by them of false claims that he wants to sell his interest in Chelsea FC. Mr Abramovich has already made quite clear, through the directors of Chelsea, that he has no intention of doing so and that neither he nor anyone upon his behalf has been pursuing any such course of action.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Chelsea executive, Peter Kenyon had previously responded to fans yesterday: 

'There has been a lot of rumour and speculation surrounding Chelsea and the owner's commitment to the club. 

'I can assure you on his behalf that this is totally unfounded and anything else you might read about this is rubbish. Chelsea is not for sale. The owner has not and is not looking to sell his interest in the club and he remains as committed as ever.' 

Roman Abramovich can’t win whatever he does.

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From the first day of taking over the club the media and many football fans said that he was a joke and didn’t know what it took to win titles.  They have constantly said that Abramovich would tire quickly of Chelsea, sell and up-sticks.  Years have passed and he is still at the club. 

One of his first actions when taking over the club was to build a state-of-the-art training ground and academy complex in Cobham in order to give Chelsea FC one of the worlds best facilities for the first team squad and youth development –  this should have been a sign that Abramovich meant business, but regular statements to the press from Kenyon and one interview from Abramovich himself denying that Chelsea FC was a short-term profit-making exercise did little to quell speculation.   

Last season Abramovich had cameras installed at the Cobham so that he could see the Chelsea teams training when he was away on business.  When in England he watches first team and youth matches and only a month ago, whilst on business, surprised regulars at the renowned Nevada Smiths pub in New York by coming in, sitting down and watching Chelsea live on television. 

He has only invested in Chelsea and demonstrated enthusiasm whilst other owners such as Glazer, Hicks and Gilet have shown that their only intention is not to build but to maximise profit in the short-term whilst the fans pick up the tab. 

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This is not the first time newspapers have been sued by members of the club; Abramovich has done so once already, John Terry and also Andriy Shevchenko (twice).  

In all cases these publications are owned by Rupert Murdoch who also owns Sky Sports.  It shouldn´t take a nuclear physicist to have a reasonable guess at what has been going on here.

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