Roman Abramovich ‘in talks to buy new football club’ after losing control of beloved Chelsea over Russian links
ROMAN ABRAMOVICH has reportedly already started talks to buy a new football club after losing control of Chelsea.
He has been hit with sanctions by the British government over his alleged links to controversial Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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And now he is desperately trying to sell the club with many bidders keen to take over at Stamford Bridge.
Now reports in Turkey claim the billionaire is ready to return to the game soon.
And he has started negotiations to buy Turkish football club Goztepe, according to Fanatik.
The team are currently 18th in the Super Lig and two points from safety.
The news comes just 48 hours after Ukrainians tried to stop Abramovich‘s super yacht from docking in Turkey during an anti-war protest.
The group was seen in a dinghy carrying their country’s yellow and blue flag with the words “No War” written on it.
It is unclear whether Abramovich himself was on the 460ft yacht My Solaris when it docked in Bodrum on Monday afternoon.
The £10billion owner of Chelsea has been sanctioned by the UK government in a crackdown on wealthy Russians with assets in the UK.
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The protesters were a team of young boaters from the Black Sea city of Odessa, Nexta TV reports.
Their action ended when the local police arrived and the yacht was able to dock in the port of the Turkish resort.
He arrived there just over a week after leaving the resort town of Tivat, Montenegro on March 13.
Since then, the ship had tracked south and rounded the Greek island of Crete in recent days before reaching Turkish waters on Monday morning.
Two superyachts owned by the battered billionaire have set sail to evade sanctions imposed on him by the European Union, which claims he has “privileged access” to Putin.
A second yacht linked to Abramovich, Eclipse, is currently sailing south of the Greek island of Rhodes and also appears to be on its way to Turkey, according to Marine Traffic.
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Meanwhile, Chelsea have been warned about the Ricketts family’s takeover bid by fans of their Chicago Cubs MLB franchise.
Family patriarch Joe Ricketts has already caused serious concern among the Blues fanbase, after Islamophobic emails sent in 2012 resurfaced.
Fans were appalled last week when leaked emails from the 80-year-old emerged containing a number of disturbing messages, including “Muslims are my enemy”.
More than 20 offers were made to the Raine Group for Chelsea before last Friday’s deadline.
A shortlist of three is expected to be selected shortly, with the Ricketts family confident they will be shortlisted.
The owners of the Chicago Cubs have the backing of US hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who is worth an estimated £20bn.
Potential buyers with existing experience in owning a sports team are believed to be preferred, putting Ricketts in a strong position.
In 2016, the Ricketts-owned Cubs won their first World Series in more than 100 years, but fans still took issue with their handling of the MLB franchise.
As part of a lengthy open letter to everyone involved in the sale of his beloved club, Chicago Chelsea Supporters Club chief Brian Wolff, who also supports the Cubs, pleaded for the offer of Ricketts be rejected.