Billionaire Roman Abramovich Says He’s Selling Chelsea Football Club

(Bloomberg) -- Roman Abramovich is selling Chelsea Football Club after almost two decades of ownership amid unrelenting scrutiny over his ties to Russia.

The billionaire, who transformed the team's fortunes since his 2003 purchase, said he's instructed the board to set up a charitable foundation to receive the net proceeds from the sale.

“The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine,” Abramovich said in a statement on the Chelsea website. “Please know that this has been an incredibly difficult decision to make, and it pains me to part with the club in this manner.”

The extraordinary disclosure came hours after U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson fielded questions over why Abramovich hasn't yet been sanctioned. While the U.K. has sanctioned more than 100 Russian individuals and entities in response to the invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich, 55, has so far remained off the list.

Chris Bryant, a member of Britain's opposition Labour Party, told the House of Commons last week that Abramovich shouldn't be allowed to own an English football club. Days later, he said the billionaire is selling the team and London properties.

“He's terrified of being sanctioned, which is why he's already going to sell his home tomorrow and sell another flat as well,” Bryant said in parliament.

Suitors of Chelsea have been on high alert over a possible sale of the prized English football club since last week, people familiar with the matter have said.

Hansjoerg Wyss, a Swiss businessman, revealed he received an offer to buy Chelsea on Tuesday, along with three other potential buyers. Abramovich's advisers at the Raine Group are seeking bids of at least 3 billion pounds ($4 billion) for the club, Sky News reported earlier, without saying where it got the information.

“He's in panic just like all other oligarchs,” Wyss said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Blick.

Abramovich made his fortune from dividends and sales of privatized assets acquired from the former Soviet Union, including oil company Sibneft and Aeroflot. He was for a time Russia's richest person and governor of the Chukotka region, a permafrost peninsula across the Bering Straits from Alaska.

He bought Chelsea in 2003 and pumped enough money into the team to turn them into serial winners. Abramovich was often seen at its Stamford Bridge and was quick to fire managers who didn't bring repeat success. Under his ownership, Chelsea won five Premier League titles and two European Champions League titles, including last year.

In 2018, he put plans to redevelop its stadium on hold after running into problems renewing his U.K. visa amid escalating tensions with Russia. That year, he obtained Israeli citizenship.

On Saturday, Abramovich tried out a plan to cede control of the club to a charitable foundation, but it quickly ran into legal issues.

Abramovich, who's worth about $13.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has loaned Chelsea more than a billion pounds. He won't ask for any of the loans to be repaid, he said in the statement.

“I hope that I will be able to visit Stamford Bridge one last time to say goodbye to all of you in person.”