The Russian Roman Abramovich insisted that his stance on the sale of English football club Chelsea had not changed and turned down a request to repay a loan to Chelsea.
And British news agency BA Media said some reports indicated that the Russian billionaire, who was sanctioned by the UK government on March 10 after the military operation in Ukraine, was insisting on repaying a loan he provided to Chelsea, according to an estimate of £5 billion ($1.9 billion).
In a statement posted on Chelsea’s official website, a spokesman for the club’s owner said: “Abramovich’s original intentions regarding donating profits from the sale of Chelsea to charities remain unchanged.”
He added: “Since the first announcement, Abramovich’s team has identified high-level representatives of United Nations bodies and major international charities who have been tasked with shaping the foundation and developing a plan for its activities.”
He continued, “The lead independent expert entered into discussions with government officials and presented the structure and initial plans.”
Abramovich stressed that he was not involved in this work and that it was independently led by specialists with many years of experience in humanitarian organizations.
He explained: “Secondly, Abramovich did not ask for any loan to be returned to him. Such signals are completely wrong, as is the fact that Mr. Abramovich decided to raise the sale price of the club at the last minute. “
