Roman Abramovich Secretly Funded Dutch Football Club During Chelsea Ownership - Reports

Roman Abramovich Secretly Funded Dutch Football Club During Chelsea Ownership - Reports

Russian businessman Roman Abramovich secretly funded a Dutch top division football club called Vitesse during the time he was the owner of Chelsea Football Club, the Guardian reported on Wednesday, citing leaked documents originating from a Cyprus-based offshore service provider

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th March, 2023) Russian businessman Roman Abramovich secretly funded a Dutch top division football club called Vitesse during the time he was the owner of Chelsea Football Club, the Guardian reported on Wednesday, citing leaked documents originating from a Cyprus-based offshore service provider.

The Russian billionaire had provided over 117 million Euros ($127 million) to Vitesse by the end of 2015 through offshore companies, whereas the club's total turnover reached just 14 million euros during that period, according to the newspaper.

The Dutch football club's links to Abramovich were suspected as early as 2010 during its takeover, led by former Georgian football player Merab Jordania, the Guardian stated. At the time, he described Abramovich as his friend, while denying the Russian businessman's involvement in the deal. The investigation into the takeover conducted by the Royal Netherlands Football Association also found no evidence of violation of its rules.

The Guardian also said that in 2014 Jordania "appeared to allege" Chelsea's involvement in Vitesse's financing by saying that "London didn't want" the Dutch club to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and prevented it from strengthening the roster. However, Jordania withdrew his comments later.

The UK newspaper reported on the alleged links between Abramovich and Vitesse back in 2017. Then, Chelsea declined to comment on the Guardian's report.

In 2018, media reported that Russian coach Leonid Slutsky's appointment as the head coach of the Dutch club was also linked with Abramovich. Slutsky was Vitesse's head coach in the 2018-2019 season and decided to quit the job in late 2019 following the team's bad performance.

Abramovich was the owner of Chelsea from March 2003. In March 2022, he put the club up for sale after the United Kingdom, in response to Russia's military operation in Ukraine, imposed sanctions against him. The club was bought by American businessman Todd Boehly's consortium, with the deal finalized in May.