The UK Government has confirmed that the assets of Roman Abramovich in the country have been frozen due to his alleged connections with Russia president Vladimir Putin, and the measures imposed include Chelsea FC.
According to a number of British journalists, the club will still be able to conduct their usual football activities, but they won’t be able to sell any more tickets for matches. Those already sold, including the season tickets, remain valid, but it seems there will be no Chelsea fans at away games or fans of other clubs at Stamford Bridge in the foreseeable future.
▪️ At home games Chelsea are allowed to spend up to £500,000 on security, catering and stewarding.
▪️ For away games they are only allowed to spend up to £20,000 on travel.
▪️ No expenditure allowed on new works or refurbishments.
[via @SkyKaveh] pic.twitter.com/6pqwWvDiay
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 10, 2022
Arguably the most important aspect of this development is that the club have been banned from signing any new players, or even giving new contracts to existing ones. With the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and captain Cesar Azpilicueta running out of contract, it poses a serious problem for the club from the strictly football perspective, all other issues aside for the moment. Not only are they unable to negotiate with the three defenders over new deals, but they’re also unable to work on signing potential replacements.
This development has likely given a boost to Barcelona’s chances of snatching Christensen and Azpilicueta, while Rudiger has been linked heavily with Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.
