Roman Abramovich apparently interested in taking over Turkish club Göztepe Izmir
Roman Abramovich Chelsea
©Getty Images
The Roman Abramovich era at Chelsea is coming to an end. But apparently the oligarch has already found a new club.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich appears to be eyeing replacements after the Blues’ intended sale. Like the Turkish sports newspaper fanaticism reported that the Russian oligarch is aiming for a takeover of the Süper Lig club Göztepe Izmir. Accordingly, negotiations between Abramovich and the club are already underway. Göztepe is currently in a relegation zone in the Turkish league, long-time president Mehmet Sepil had announced his resignation at the end of the season.
Turkey may be of interest to Abramovich because the country did not impose sanctions on Russian people as harsh as other European states during the war between Russia and Ukraine. Turkey is not a member of the EU. It was only this week that two yachts owned by the 55-year-old billionaire docked in Turkish ports.
Chelsea are subject to strict rules because of Abramovich
As part of the sanctions, Abramovich has already announced that he wants to sell Chelsea. However, since the British government issued regulations that prohibit Abramovich from continuing to earn money with the club, the club around coach Thomas Tuchel recently got into difficulties in day-to-day business. For example, Chelsea are not allowed to extend contracts with players, and the sale of merchandising is also prohibited. After all, the strict rules for selling tickets have been relaxed a bit.
Overall, it should be up to the March 18 deadline over 200 bids for a takeover of the club have given. A final decision should be made in the coming weeks.