Former Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon has suggested that Roman Abramovich will want the sale of the west London club to go through a ‘process’ before he decides to cash-in.
The Russian billionaire has already indicated his desire to cede ownership of the current European champions, that move being confirmed in an official statement on the Blues’ official website.
Any deal would bring to an end Abramovich’s near 20-year long stewardship of the club having originally sealed a big-money takeover in 2003.
It of course remains to be seen who the eventual buyers of the club will be - with names such as Hansjorg Wyss and Todd Boehly emerging as potential successors over the past few days.
Having been a close colleague of Abramovich during his six-year spell at Stamford Bridge, Peter Kenyon has given his say on the Blues’ potential takeover but revealed that Abramovich wants any deal to be completed in the proper means.
Speaking to the BBC’s The Sports Desk podcast, he said: “It’s a sad day for Chelsea in one way. It’s had an ownership over 19 years has supported it without debt.
“It’s been incredibly successful - 21 trophies in 19 years. There’ll be a lot of fans of Chelsea that are concerned about the next phase.
“He [Abramovich] wants that sale to be handled through a process, I think that’s important. Then the use of those proceeds, in terms of how they will be donated, I think is also an important factor.
“I would hope that process is allowed to happen because ultimately, I think the focus then becomes not in terms of how much money Chelsea goes for but who the next owner is and is fit and proper aspects of what he wants to do with the club and how he would maintain the club from where it is today.”
