Jamie Carragher has accused Chelsea fans of being “hypocrites” over their complaints about sanctions against Roman Abramovich negatively impacting the club.
The Chelsea owner had his assets frozen last Thursday after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the government of the United Kingdom describing Abramovich as having “clear connections” to Vladimir Putin.
The billionaire had announced his intention to sell the club he bought in 2003, and was disqualified as a director by the Premier League on Saturday after the sanctions were announced.
It leaves Chelsea unable to conduct usual club business, including a ban on any player transfers and the sale of further tickets or merchandise to fans.
They have been given a licence to continue to fulfil fixtures and pay staff, but will be reliant on a sale in relatively short order to avoid cash reserves drying up.
Fans of the club fear that other clubs may capitalise on the uncertainty, with several players out of contract in the summer unable to negotiate a new deal, and manager Thomas Tuchel linked with the likely summer vacancy at Manchester United.
Carragher, speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, said that he does not want Chelsea to “go to the wall”, and suggested there are aspects of their plight that he feels bad about.
However the former Liverpool and England centre-half believes that the club have “taken advantage of every other club” since the arrival of the mega-rich Abramovich in 2003, with his resources enabling Chelsea to operate in such a manner. Carragher wrote in his column for The Telegraph that Manchester United should target Tuchel amid the uncertainty at Stamford Bridge.
“It’s fair to say that l had a few heated discussions at Stamford Bridge on Sunday,” Carragher explained having attended the fixture against Newcastle.
“The Chelsea fans are very passionate about their club and at this moment feel like the world is attacking them, and they are defending their club. I totally get that. But l wouldn’t change my opinion on it.
“The reason l think it’s a little bit hypocritical of Chelsea supporters is because if teams - such as Manchester United with the manager, or other clubs with the players - are going to take advantage of the situation that Chelsea are in right now, Chelsea have been doing that for 20 years.
“That was the big thing of Roman Abramovich coming - ‘we can throw our money about and get who we want’.
“The first thing they did was go to Manchester United and take Peter Kenyon as their CEO. ‘We’ll go to Liverpool and take the best midfielder in Europe and destabilise that club for two summers’ - they didn’t get him. ‘We’ll get Ashley Cole, an Invincible who has won everything at Arsenal. Yeah, we’ll go and get him. We get caught tapping up? Doesn’t matter, we’ll pay the fine’.
“Chelsea have taken advantage of every other club in the last 20 years because of Roman Abramovich.
“So if l give an opinion on someone taking advantage of them, that is just a way of life. That’s the way it may be for Chelsea and you have to accept that.
“Some of the things we’ve seen at Chelsea, such as closing the club shop and stopping kids from getting Mason Mount on the back of their shirts, I don’t agree with that and I certainly don’t want Chelsea to go to the wall.
“But, if that’s my opinion of it, I certainly don’t want Chelsea fans questioning that opinion next time I go there because it’s exactly what they have done for the last 20 years.”
A deal that would end Abramovich’s time as owner in West London is likely to be concluded relatively swiftly.
Interested parties have until Friday 18 March to submit bids for Chelsea to the Raine Group, the investment bank who are handling the sale of the club.
Bidders must also submit proof of funds.
As many as 200 parties have reportedly indicated interest.
