Roman Abramovich

Roman Arkadievich Abramovich (Russian: ?????? ??????????? ??????????) (born October 24, 1966 in Saratov, Russian SFSR, USSR) is a Russian oil billionaire, referred to as one of the Russian oligarchs. In March 2005 he was listed by Forbes Magazine as the richest Russian and the 21st richest person in the world with an estimated fortune of $13.3 billion. (Everyone above him in the list was older than him; the only one of those within a decade of his age was computer magnate Michael Dell, 20 months older). Abramovich is most famous outside of Russia as the owner of Chelsea F.C., an English Premiership football club, his wider involvement in European football, and for his contributions to Jewish enterprises in Israel and elsewhere, reflecting his Jewish origins.

Abramovich and European Football

In 2003 he became the owner of the companies that control Chelsea Football Club in the United Kingdom. Since he took control, Chelsea (sometimes humorously termed Chelski by British tabloids) have gone on a buying spree of some of the game's most skilled players. The result was near-instant success, with Chelsea spending the 2003-2004 season at or near the top of the Premiership (finishing second to Arsenal) and doing well in the prestigious Champions League competition (being knocked out in the semi-finals by the eventual runners-up, AS Monaco). The second place finish in the Premiership automatically qualified them for the group phase of the 2004-05 Champions League. Only a week after Porto won the 2004 Champions League final, Abramovich replaced Claudio Ranieri as manager with José Mourinho, who had led Porto to the crown. The 2004-05 season proved equally successful; Chelsea won their first English title since 1955 and only the second in their history. They also won the 2005 Carling Cup. Chelsea also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for the second successive season, knocking out Barcelona and Bayern Munich, before they lost to eventual winners Liverpool. Still, it represents a major success for José Mourinho and Roman Abramovich's dream of domestic, European and worldwide dominance of football.

Related Topics:
2003 - Chelsea Football Club - United Kingdom - British - Tabloid - Premiership - Arsenal - Champions League - AS Monaco - Porto - Claudio Ranieri - José Mourinho - Carling Cup - Barcelona - Bayern Munich - Liverpool

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In March 2004, Sibneft agreed a three-year sponsorship deal worth USD 58 million (approx. GBP 30 million, EUR 44.5 million, RUR 1.6 billion) with the Russian team CSKA Moscow. Despite the company explaining that the decision was made at management level, some viewed the deal as an attempt by Abramovich to counter accusations of being unpatriotic which were made at the time of the Chelsea purchase. UEFA rules prevent one person owning more than one team participating in UEFA competitions, so Abramovich has no equity interest in CSKA. Nevertheless, he was named most influential person in Russian football in the Russian magazine Pro Sport at the end of June 2004. In May 2005, CSKA won the UEFA Cup, becoming the first Russian club ever to win a major European football competition.

Related Topics:
CSKA Moscow - UEFA - UEFA Cup

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