Billionaire winery owner’s Chelsea takeover plans thrown into doubt by Abramovich sanctions

Hansjorg Wyss, who owns the Halter Ranch winery in California, went public with his interest in buying Chelsea Football Club last week. However, with current owner Roman Abramovich being sanctioned by the UK government this morning, any sale of the Premier League giant has been plunged into doubt.

The UK government announced this morning that it would be placing sanctions upon Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch owner of Chelsea FC. The move comes hot on the heels of Mr Abramovich’s announcement last week that he was planning to sell Chelsea FC “in the best interest of the club”.

In a statement, he said that “net proceeds” from the sale of the club would be donated for “the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine”.

However, it is widely believed that the UK government’s sanctions will come into force before any sale of Chelsea FC can be pushed through.

Hansjorg Wyss was among the first to go public with his interest in Chelsea FC, claiming that he had been approached by intermediaries looking to secure the sale.

Wyss, who has a reported worth of £4.3 billion, was believed to have joined a consortium with Todd Boehly, the part-owner of the LA Dodgers baseball team who is thought to be worth £5 billion.

However, under the sanctions levied by the UK government, Mr Abramovich will have his assets frozen, be prohibited from making transactions with individuals and businesses from the UK, and be banned from entering the country.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that Mr Abramovich, along with six other oligarchs who were sanctioned today, were “complicit” with Putin.

“The blood of the Ukrainian people is on their hands. They should hang their heads in shame,” she added.

Meanwhile, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries detailed plans for Chelsea FC to continue operating under a special license.

“Today’s sanctions obviously have a direct impact on Chlesea and its fans. We have been working hard to ensure the club and the national game are not unnecessarily harmed by these important sanctions,” she wrote on Twitter.

1/ 4🧵Putin’s attack on Ukraine continues & we are witnessing new levels of evil by the hour. Today the Government has announced further sanctions against individuals linked to the Russian Government. This list includes Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea Football Club.

— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) March 10, 2022

“To ensure the club can continue to compete and operate we are issuing a special licence that will allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches while, crucially, depriving Abramovich of benefiting from his ownership of the club.

“I know this brings some uncertainty, but the government will work with the league and clubs to keep football being played while ensuring sanctions hit those intended. Football clubs are cultural assets and the bedrock of our communities. We’re committed to protecting them.”

The UK government described Mr Abramovich as “one of the few oligarchs from the 1990s to maintain prominence under Putin”.