Abramovich statement blasted by Micah Richards as Chelsea 'thrown into turmoil'

Roman Abramovich’s statement on his ownership of Chelsea has been slammed by former England defender Micah Richards, while the Premier League club have been urged to give more clarity after being ‘thrown into turmoil’ by the announcement.

On Saturday evening, Abramovich released a statement saying he is ‘giving trustees of Chelsea’s charitable foundation the stewardship and care’ of the club.

Russian billionaire Abramovich, who will remain the club’s owner, made the decision amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

‘I have always taken decisions with the club’s best interest at heart,’ he said in a rare statement.

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‘I remain committed to these values. That is why I am today giving trustees of Chelsea’s charitable Foundation the stewardship and care of Chelsea FC.

‘I believe that currently they are in the best position to look after the interests of the club, players, staff, and fans.’

But former Manchester City star Richards was underwhelmed by Abramovich’s ‘poor’ statement and said there was ‘so many questions’ that still need to be answered by Chelsea.

‘We need more than that,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘After all the devastation we’ve seen in Ukraine, to just come out with that statement is poor.

‘They could do a lot more than that. There’s so many questions that need to be answered. What does the statement even mean? It’s almost written in code.’

Former Chelsea and England winger Karen Carney, meanwhile, said: ‘The word I keep coming back to right now is uncertainty.

‘We need clarity of what’s going to happen to the football club but it throws it in massive turmoil.

‘It’s very new to everyone and a lot of people need more clarity than that statement. There’s a lot of questions that still need answering.’

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Chelsea have won every trophy available to them under the ownership of Russian billionaire Abramovich.

Under Thomas Tuchel, the Blues lifted the Champions League last season and the Club World Cup earlier this month. Chelsea face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.

On Friday, Tuchel admitted there were ‘so many uncertainties around the situation of our club’ amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

‘We should not pretend this is not an issue,’ said Tuchel. ‘The situation in general [in Ukraine] for me and for my staff, and for everybody at Cobham, the players, is horrible.

‘Nobody expected this. It’s pretty unreal, like I said it’s clouding our minds, it’s clouding our excitement towards the final.

‘And it brings huge uncertainty, much more to all the people and families who are actually in the moment more involved than us.

‘And our best wishes, regards and thoughts are obviously with them, which is absolutely the most important thing.

‘And still there are so many uncertainties around the situation of our club and of the situation in the UK, with scenarios like this, that it makes no sense if I comment on it.’

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