Paul Merson has stated that it’s a ‘toss of a coin’ as to how Chelsea’s new owners could turn out to be, as he used both Newcastle United and Manchester United as examples, as he told Sky Sports.
With Roman Abramovich sanctioned by the UK Government because of his ‘clear’ links to Vladimir Putin amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it has resulted in Chelsea looking for new buyers.
Now, whether or not the possible sale of Chelsea will be ticked off by the powers that be remains to be seen.
Added with that, there is a huge question mark on the individual or individuals who could come in because they will be buying a team that, before Abramovich’s arrival, were nowhere near the level of stature they are now at in English football.
Either way, ex-Arsenal man, Merson, who grew up supporting Chelsea, stated that if the Blues get owners like the Saudis at Newcastle, then it’s a case of ‘here we go’ and a positive for the club, but not if they are like the Glazers at Manchester United.
“It depends who comes in,” said Merson. “There’s no point buying a club for £3bn and then running it into the ground. That’s no good at all.
“You just highlighted a player in Mason Mount. He’s an £80-90 million player and he cost nothing. You have Werner, who hasn’t kicked a ball and cost £60 million. Lukaku cost £90 million. There are players there.
“Someone could come in and buy the club, then sell five-six players straight away for £300-400 million. As a Chelsea fan, I hope not. There would have been a stage, 10-12 days ago, when Roman Abramovich would have had a say in it and said ‘I need to know what you are going to do with this club. I love Chelsea’. But that’s completely out of his hands now.
“Now, it’s a toss of a coin, as a Chelsea fan. You don’t know what you are going to get. Someone can come in and be like the Glazers and be also-rans or someone is going to come in, like Newcastle, and you think ‘here we go’.”
There was a lot of question marks, and still will be, over the Saudi’s takeover at Newcastle and whether or not it was the right thing to do.
But, at the end of the day, if owners like Abramovich were allowed into the building over a decade ago, then not many can complain.
That’s where perhaps football is a mess and, at the end of the day, it’s the supporters and those behind-the-scenes, who suffer the most.
Chelsea are in that situation now given how near-on everything, from a financial perspective, has been locked by the UK Government.
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