Reports: Chelsea up for sale with £2billion valuation

The Blues have been successful under Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich but his commitment to the club has been called into question in recent times.

In a shocking turn of events, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has put the club on sale. According to the Sunday Times, in an effort to sell the Premier League outfit, the Russian-Israeli billionaire businessman has hired the services of the Raine Group. The New York-based bank has valued the club at a whopping £2 billion and will advise Abramovich on its sale.

The move was inspired after the advisors helped another Premier League club, Manchester City, sell a 13% stake to China Media Capital for £265m back in 2015. However, it isn’t official yet, whether the club is looking for a whole new ownership or to sell Abramovich’s stake which he bought for £140m in 2003.

Since his takeover in 2003, Chelsea have seen an unbelievable growth as they went on to win the treble in 2013. The Blues also became the first English club to win all the three major UEFA trophies which is an incredible feat. The Stamford Bridge outfit have also won five Premier League titles in the Russian’s reign.

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A recent run of bad form, however, may have been the reason behind the surprise move. The Londoners have failed to qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three years. Apart from that, they have lost several players in recent seasons, including the likes of Mohamed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, who have since gone on to become world-class stars and are currently dominating the league for different clubs. It might get worse for the Londoners, if they don’t convince Eden Hazard to extend his stay, as speculation over a move to Real Madrid continues.

A vital event that saw Chelsea’s growth considerably decline was the rise of Manchester City after their big money takeover by the Abu Dhabi-based City Group in 2012. Since then, the Blues have recorded many inconsistent league finishes.