Chelsea In A Difficult Position After Roman Abramovich Is Suspended, Threatened With Abandonment By Sponsors And Only Has Input From Selling Food

Chelsea threatened to leave the main sponsor following the sanctions received by Roman Abramovich. (Photo: Instagram.com/@chelseafc)

JAKARTA - Chelsea's situation is getting more difficult after a number of assets belonging to Roman Abramovich as the owner of the club were frozen. This is inseparable from the sanctions imposed by the British government on Abramovich.

The latest news, the Blues threatened to be abandoned by its main sponsor, Three (3). The cellular provider company decided to suspend cooperation indefinitely.

Not only that, Three also asked Chelsea to remove their company logo which was printed on the team jersey and in the area around the headquarters at Stamford Bridge.

Reporting from The Sun, Three has been Chelsea's main sponsor since last season and in the initial agreement the cooperation contract will last until June 2023. In the agreement it is also known that the sponsorship value disbursed by Three for Chelsea is 40 million pounds or around Rp747.9 billion. per year.

"In light of the sanctions announced by the British government recently, we have asked Chelsea Football Club to suspend our cooperation," Three said in a statement.

"The suspension of cooperation, including the removal of our logo from the jersey and in the stadium area. This is valid until further notice," they added.

Three's decision to suspend cooperation with Chelsea will clearly have an impact on the team's financial flows.

The British government's decision to impose harsh sanctions on Abramovich was a big blow for the Blues. The reason is that the sanctions imposed also have an impact on teams that are prohibited from carrying out player transfer activities, both buying and selling, prohibited from renewing player contracts, staff, and others.

In addition, the Blues cannot sell match tickets and club merchandise. The situation clearly makes Chelsea unable to rotate their financial flows properly.

The only thing that can be an income for the team is by selling food in the stadium.

Still reported by The Sun, Chelsea can still get support from supporters at the stadium from those who have season member tickets. Where the member ticket holder will also automatically have access to buy food and drinks sold at the stadium during the match.

The income from selling food and drink is what will then be included in the club's income. The funds will be used to ensure staff salaries are still paid and equipment is met.

The sale of food and drinks is also estimated to be able to increase Chelsea's income by around 200 thousand pounds, or around Rp. 3.8 billion per game.