Chelsea book their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals with victory over Luton but the match was eclipsed by the news that Roman Abramovich has confirmed he is going to sell the club
Thomas Tuchel says it is the ‘right decision’ for Roman Abramovich to sell Chelsea after the Russian billionaire confirmed he is looking for a buyer for the Premier League club.
Amid massive calls for the oligarch to be sanctioned
following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the 55-year-old – who bought
Chelsea in 2003 – says he has made the ‘painful’ decision to offload the club.
In a statement on Wednesday evening, Abramovich claimed he
will not demand that Chelsea repay the £1.5billion he is owed and that all net
proceeds from the sale would go to a charitable foundation he is setting up
‘which will benefit all victims of the war in Ukraine’.
While Abramovich has yet to find a buyer for the club, Swiss
billionaire Hansjorg Wyss claims he and three others were approached by the
Russian to buy the club this week after the threat of sanctions was raised in
Parliament.
Abramovich made his statement just minutes before Chelsea
named their starting line-up for Wednesday’s FA Cup clash with Luton Town and
inevitably Tuchel was questioned about the latest development following his
side’s 3-2 victory.
Asked for his reaction when he heard the news, Tuchel told
BBC Sport: ‘Maybe I heard it a little bit earlier than you but still it was
very close to the kick-off!
‘Well, you know, we heard the rumours throughout the day and
it’s on TV, and when we have team meetings and we eat together the guys talk
about it – everybody talks about it.
‘So, yeah, it is big news, let’s wait and see for the best
and see what the day brings.’
Asked if he feels it is the right decision, Tuchel
continued: ‘I think every decision he takes is the right decision. It’s his
choice, it’s his club, and it’s not on me to comment.’
Probed on what the sale will mean for Chelsea in the short
term, Tuchel replied: ‘Even if I want to answer I don’t exactly know.
‘In the very short term I think for us, as a team, staff and
players, hopefully [it doesn’t change] too much. Or maybe it changes even
nothing.
‘But the situation is now out there, it’s a big situation
and I can understand that, so there will be a lot of reports but we try to do
what we try to do to cancel the noise and to stay focused – which is not always
easy.
‘But we showed again today that we are able to do it and we
will try again on Saturday.’
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