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Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich makes massive statement

By Gabe Henderson

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - FEBRUARY 12: Thomas Tuchel the manager / head coach of Chelsea and Roman Abrahimovic owner of Chelsea during the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021 Final match between Chelsea v Palmeiras at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium on February 12, 2022 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - FEBRUARY 12: Thomas Tuchel the manager / head coach of Chelsea and Roman Abrahimovic owner of Chelsea during the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021 Final match between Chelsea v Palmeiras at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium on February 12, 2022 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 19: Didier Drogba (L) of Montreal Impact and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (R) are seen on the stand prior to the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on December 19, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 19: Didier Drogba (L) of Montreal Impact and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (R) are seen on the stand prior to the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on December 19, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /

2. Who is now calling the shots at Chelsea?

Abramovich stepping away seems to be nothing but a glorified public relations campaign, if we’re being honest with ourselves. The owner has seldom been allowed into the United Kingdom since his visa expired back in 2018. He’s still heavily involved in the running of Chelsea, mostly making decisions relating to personnel, the managerial position and pumping funds into transfers. But the few tasks Abramovich cannot complete because he is not physically in west London are completed by his right-hand woman, Marina Granovskaia.

Granovskaia is familiar to football fans across Europe as she’s built a reputation for being one of the most adept minds in the game. The Blues’ Director has—for all intents and purposes—been running the club from behind closed doors at Stamford Bridge for quite awhile. Abramovich’s official message stated that the stewardship and care of Chelsea would now be given to the trustees of the club’s Charitable Foundation. Similar to the notice itself, this seems to be nothing but a brilliant public relations tactic.

Abramovich keeps the spotlight off Granovskaia, who is a very private person under normal circumstances as things stand. Further, if you hadn’t already guessed, she also has Russian connections. Granovskaia isn’t close with Putin (at least, not that we know of anyway) and she doesn’t hold nearly as much power as Abramovich, but she was born in Russia. Therefore, handing her power just means throwing her to the wolves, as well. Granovskaia and Technical and Performance Adviser Petr Cech will continue to handle all football operations per usual though. For those who are wondering, neither of the aforementioned figures are a part of the group that Abramovich transferred power to on Saturday.

The Chelsea Foundation Trustees are led by another name many Blues fans will recognize, Chairman Bruce Buck. Buck isn’t the only notable figure amongst the trustees either. Chelsea Women’s manager Emma Hayes is also a part of the group. The rest of the group is rounded out by respected individuals such as John Devine (partner and Head of the Sports Team at Muckle LLP), Piara Powar (former Chief Executive of Kick It Out), Paul Ramos (Chelsea’s Director of Finance) and Sir Hugh Robertson (vice-chair of the British Olympic Association).

These individuals will be the figureheads for the Blues for the foreseeable future while Abramovich steps away. Regardless, the day-to-day operations at the club will remain the same with Granovskaia and Cech pulling all of the strings.

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