Chelsea FC was £80m in debt when Roman Abramovich paid Ken Bates £140m to buy the club in July 2003. By contrast, Bates coughed up just £1m in 1982 and took on debts of £1.5m.
The club has boomed up from the depth of debt to ranking 5th among the World’s Most Valuable teams since the Russian billionaire took over.
We look at Chelsea’s top 10 most expensive signings, top 10 biggest sales, laurels and more won under Abramovich’s ten years in charge.
Chelsea’s Top Ten Expensive Signings Under Roman Abramovich:
Fernando Torres (Liverpool) £50m
Eden Hazard (Lille) £35.2m
Andrey Shevchenko (AC Milan) £30m
Michael Essien (Lyon) £24.4m
Juan Mata (Valencia) £23m
Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City) £21m
Didier Drogba (Marseille) £24m
David Luiz (Benfica) £21m
Ricardo Carvalho (Porto) £19.85m
Oscar (Internacional) £19.3m
Chelsea’s Top Ten Biggest Sales Under Roman Abramovich:
Arjen Robben (Real Madrid) £21m
Yuri Zhirkov (Anzhi Makhachkala) £13m
Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen) £10m
Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City) £9m
Eidur Gujhonsen (Barcelona) £8m
Asier Del Horno (Valencia) £7m
Tiago (Lyon) £6.8m
Ricardo Carvalho (Real Madrid) £6.7m
Scott Parker (Newcastle) £6.5m
Robert Huth (Middlesbrough) £6m
Chelsea’s Managers During Roman Abramovich’s Ten Years Ownership:
Claudio Ranieri: Sept 2000 – May 04
Jose Mourinho: May 04 – Sept 07 & June 13 – Present
Avram Grant: Sept 07 – May 08
Luiz Felipe Scolari: July 08 – Feb 09
Ray Wilkins: Feb 09
Guus Hiddink: Feb 09 – May 09
Carlo Ancellotti: June 09 – May 11
Andre Villas-Boas: June 11 – March 12
Roberto Di Matteo: March 12 – Nov 12
Rafa Benitez: Nov 12 – May 13
And Honours Won Under Roman Abramovich’s Ten Years In Charge:
Champions League: 2011-12.
Premier League: 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10.
FA Cup: 2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2011-12.
Europa League: 2012-13
League Cup: 2004-05, 2006-07.
FA Community Shield: 2005, 2009.
