Chelsea blues: Five first-teamers to leave, sponsor axes deal as UK sanctions hit Roman Abramovich

Chelsea are set to lose several first-team stars on a free this summer after the UK government on Thursday sanctioned owner Roman Abramovich and froze his assets in the country, throwing the club into turmoil.  

Abramovich is among seven oligarchs, believed to be close to Russia President Vladimir Putin, whose assets have been frozen by the UK following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions not only make his proposed sale of Chelsea impossible at this time, but could also have significant ramifications on the club’s operations.

While Chelsea have been granted a special licence to continue playing as a ‘significant cultural asset’, the club will not be allowed to sell matchday tickets or sign new players. Significantly, Chelsea will not be allowed to tie down any player to a new contract, although it will be allowed to pay footballers and staff members. 

The freeze allows Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, and Antonio Rudiger, whose contracts expire in the summer, to leave on a free. Midfielder Charly Musonda Jr will also leave when his contract expires, while Chelsea will not be able to trigger Saul Niguez’s buy option from Atletico Madrid at the end of his loan spell.

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Azpilicueta, Christensen, and Rudiger had already been linked with exits before the sanctions. Rudiger has been linked with domestic rivals Manchester United and Newscastle United, Paris Saint-Germain, and Real Madrid. The German, who joined Chelsea in 2017 from Roma, has won the FA Cup, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup with the Blues.  

Christensen and Azpilicueta are targets for Barcelona with the cash-strapped Spanish giants looking to snap them up for free.

The sanctions mean only season-ticket holders of the Stamford Bridge club will be allowed inside the stadium. The club has also been banned from selling merchandise. 

The UK government is also taking steps to ensure that Abramovich cannot profit from Chelsea’s Premier League activities.

Tweeting about the move, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “Today’s sanctions obviously have a direct impact on Chelsea and its fans.”

“We have been working hard to ensure the club and the national game are not unnecessarily harmed by these important sanctions. To ensure the club can continue to compete and operate we are issuing a special licence that will allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches while, crucially, depriving Abramovich of benefiting from his ownership of the club.”

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The news of the sanctions was followed by shirt sponsors Three, a telecom company, temporarily suspending its £40-million-a-year association with the club and putting the overall deal under review. “In light of the government’s recently announced sanctions, we have requested Chelsea Football Club temporarily suspend our sponsorship of the club, including the removal of our brand from shirts and around the stadium until further notice,” Reuters quoted Three as saying.

Analysts have warned that other sponsors were likely to follow Three by ending their involvement with the club to avoid guilt by association. The reports suggest sportswear giants Nike, which has a £55 million kit deal, carmaker Hyundai, and watchmaker Hublot, with deals worth a combined £15 million, will also weigh up their next move.

South Korean automotive giants Hyundai has said it was assessing its contract with the club, reports in the English media said. Chelsea made £154 million from commercial deals despite the pandemic last year. In 2019, it earned £200 million in sponsorship.

Chelsea released a statement following the sanctions announcement and said the team would fulfil team fixtures. The club also intends “to engage in discussions with the UK Government regarding the scope of the licence. This will include seeking permission for the licence to be amended in order to allow the Club to operate as normal as possible.”

“We will also be seeking guidance from the UK Government on the impact of these measures on the Chelsea Foundation and its important work in our communities,” the club stated.