• Premier Abramovich leaves the management of Chelsea in the hands of the Club Foundation

Last Saturday, through a brief statement,

Roman Abramovich

, the owner of

Chelsea

, announced that he was leaving the management of the club in the hands of the club's Charitable Foundation.

Does that mean that the Russian oligarch is getting rid of the entity that he bought in 2003 for 165 million euros plus the debt that he dragged on?

Not seem.

Abramovich

has effectively left control of Chelsea in the hands of the club's Foundation, managed by six figureheads

, but he remains the owner of the club, worth an estimated €1.9bn.

Abramovich has so far escaped the measures taken by the British government against the Russian oligarchs, but

the fear of future economic reprisals for the war that his country has unleashed in Ukraine has made him take this step

.

"During my almost 20 years as owner of Chelsea FC, I have always seen my role as custodian of the club," Abramovich explained in that brief announcement (without even mentioning the war) hours before the Carabao Cup final between Chelsea and the Liverpool, where Klopp's team finally won on penalties.

The atmosphere at Wembley, with large banners with the Ukrainian flag and against the war, weighed heavily on the Chelsea players due to the long shadow of the Russian oligarch.

"It has been horrible and unreal, we have a cloud over our heads," acknowledged German coach Thomas Tuchel,

but not before assuring that there will be no major changes due to Abramovich's "withdrawal".

Liverpool fans before Saturday's match against Chelsea. AFP

"I have always made decisions with the best for the club in mind and I remain committed to those values," the 55-year-old Russian businessman alleged in his letter.

“That is why I give the trustees of the charitable foundation the administration and care of Chelsea FC.

I think it's the best position to look after the interests of the club, the players, the coaching staff and the fans."

Thus, six figureheads will now share the reins of the club:

Bruce Buck

(president since 2004 and Abramovich's confidant),

Paul Ramos

(financial director),

Emma Hayes

(coach of the women's team),

Sir Hugh Robertson

(President of the British Olympic Association),

John Devine

(lawyer for the firm Muckle LLP) and

Piara Power

(at the head of an entity such as Football Against Racism in Europe, FARE for its acronym in English).

From now on, the six trustees will watch over the management of the club and will assume functions that go far beyond the functions of employment, education and social inclusion for which the foundation was created in 2010. Analysts are divided between those who consider that the The move may simply be a temporary measure, to ease the pressure on the club, and those who believe that Abramovich could finally be considering his final departure.

However, all agree that these six people are not going to make any major decisions without consulting him, not to mention that there is no evidence of a change in the actual ownership of the club.

Moreover, Labor MP

Chris Bryant

defined Abramovich's decision as "the typical Russian maneuver to avoid being sanctioned."

At the moment, this maneuver of leaving the management of one of its companies in other hands is being closely examined by the authorities, as it

may represent the beginning of a modus operandi of the Russian oligarchs to avoid sanctions

.

His participation, told by some Jerusalem and London media, in Monday's negotiations between Russians and Ukrainians in Belarus is the last of the unknowns surrounding his figure.

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