Manager John Terry has caused division within the British government since Roman Abramovich was forced to sell Chelsea in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than three-and-a-half years ago. Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 and oversaw a period of great success for the club.
Abramovich was sanctioned by Boris Johnson’s Conservative government in March 2022 after the Russian oligarch had his assets frozen. A few months later he sold the club to a consortium led by Todd Boley. Sanctions against Abramovich remain in place under Sir Keir Starmer’s Labor government, with the £2.5 billion raised from the sale of the club remaining frozen in British bank accounts. And Terry is not happy with how things turned out.
“I think he’s one of the greatest people you can ever meet in your life,” Terry explained on the Obi Wan Podcast.
“I think what happened to him is disgusting, I really do. I think the British government should be ashamed of its actions towards him.”
“What he did during lockdown and what he did for the NHS was sensational. He opened up Stamford Bridge to all the nurses and gave people a home during a difficult time. He’s a really nice, lovely guy who loves our football club and thankfully he made the right decision to leave other football clubs and come here.”
Speaking about what Abramovich has done for Chelsea, Terry said:
“The old training ground was really bad and he came in and was like, ‘No, we don’t train there.’” And then shortly after that we bought Cobham and he turned it into what it is today and gave us the opportunity to perform with the best pitch, the best facilities, the best staff and improvements to the stadium.
“He was invested in you (players) as well. He would come to us and say, ‘It’s after the Champions League game, so we’ll pay for the supporters to go to Bolton this weekend.'” That happened a lot under Roman, and he was keen on it. One of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met in my life. ”
Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea was outlined in the book Sanctioned, which was released earlier this year.
And in an interview in Dubai ahead of the book’s release, the 59-year-old said: “Maybe one day I’ll be in a situation where I can go to a[Chelsea]game and say a proper goodbye, but nothing beyond that.”
He added: “I’m not interested in any role at a football club, certainly not in a professional role.”
