John Terry has been heavily criticised by a Labour MP for praising Roman Abramovich as ‘the best’ following his announcement he has put Chelsea up for sale.
The Russian billionaire released a statement on Wednesday evening in which he said he is looking to sell the Premier League side and that he is writing off the £1.5billion debt he is owed by the club.
It came as Abramovich – who has reported links to the Russian regime – is seeking to distance himself from Vladimir Putin and sanctions imposed on Russia by the west over its devastating and illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea fans immediately responded to the statement by expressing their gratitude towards Abramovich, with the club winning 21 trophies since he became owner back in 2003.
And few were more glowing in their praise than former Chelsea captain Terry, who captained them to 16 trophies under Abramovich – including five Premier League titles – and said: ‘Thank you Roman. The Best Owner in the WORLD.’
However, the former Blues and England centre-back’s statement has not gone down very well, with MP Chris Bryant leading the criticism as Ukrainians continue to lose their lives following Russia’s invasion last week.
‘I think @JohnTerry26 you should take this down ASAP,’ Mr Bryant said. ‘The people of Ukraine are being bombed, shelled and murdered while you celebrate Abramovich.’
John Terry has been heavily criticised by a Labour MP for praising Roman Abramovich as ‘the best’
It comes after Mr Bryant, using parliamentary privilege to avoid legal action, alleged the tycoon is selling his home and an apartment because he is ‘terrified of being sanctioned’, adding that he feared the government will soon run out of time to act.
Social media users were also quick to call out Terry’s post, with one stating: ‘You’re an idiot JT. Try thinking of other people for a change.
Others just simply tweeted: ‘Absolutely shameful,’ while another posted a reply to his tweet which read: ‘You should be ashamed. This is not a time to glorify a oligarch.’
Others were critical that Terry had shown a lack of sensitivity given the war in Ukraine, with another tweeting: ‘Read the room John. Think before you tweet.’
MP Chris Bryant hinted the tweet was in poor taste as Ukrainians continue to lose their lives following Russia’s invasion
Meanwhile, others added in reply to the ex-defender’s tweet: ‘Plenty in Ukraine and Russia would disagree,’ and ‘John Terry is the gift that keeps on giving. The only issue is nobody asked for the gift.’
Some Chelsea fans did also extend their thanks to Abramovich, with one tweeting: ‘We’ll miss you Roman. Thank you for the incredible moments.’
And famed Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville believes Chelsea fans will have ‘a lot of affinity’ for the Russian after he put the club up for sale.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville said: ‘They’ll have a lot of affinity for Roman Abramovich will Chelsea fans and rightly so. I think I’ve had most of them on my timeline since I have them a hard time over his charities trustees comments on Sunday at the final!
‘But the reality of it is, Chelsea will be OK. Irrespective of whether you like the idea of Russian money coming into English football or not, Roman Abramovich has been a very good owner for Chelsea Football Club.
‘There are worse owners who are English. My home-town club Bury has a terrible owner who sent them bust. Derby’s owners at this moment in time are British. We’ve got an issue in football with ownership generally, not just international ownership or ownership coming from money that we may not like.’
Terry captained Chelsea to 16 trophies under Abramovich, including the 2012 Champions League
Former Chelsea captain Terry labelled Roman Abramovich the ‘best owner in the world’
Abramovich now hopes to end his near two-decade spell as owner with a £3bn sale, although there are serious doubts over whether he will receive bids near that figure.
In a statement on Wednesday night, Abramovich said: ‘I have always taken decisions with the club’s best interest at heart,’ he said in a statement.
‘In the current situation, I have therefore taken the decision to sell the club … I will not be asking for any loans to be repaid.
‘I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated.
‘The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine. This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery.’
It has also been reported Abramovich had already begun a ‘fire sale’ of his sprawling London portfolio as he tries to offload Chelsea and £200million worth of properties.
Abramovich is worth £10.4bn ($12.5bn), according to Forbes, and owns a £150m Kensington mansion, a £22m penthouse, and more than £1.2bn of yachts, private jets, helicopters and supercars in Britain and globally.
Abramovich has instructed American bank the Raine Group to handle the sale of west London club Chelsea.
Sources claim Abramovich believes Chelsea is worth more than £3bn – but the likelihood of receiving such offers appears small and is likely to inevitably lead to him lowering his expectations.
Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss claims he has been approached and is considering an offer as part of a consortium which also includes Todd Boehly, the co-owner of baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers.
There are strong indications that Abramovich will receive at least two firm offers for Chelsea by the end of the week, but a buy-out could be spoiled if Abramovich is sanctioned by the UK Government.
There is a sense that securing an American buyer would be Abramovich’s best route to a sale because investment from China, the rest of the Far East and Eastern Europe has dried up for political reasons.
However, Abramovich’s reported links to the Russian regime could lead to reluctance to deal with Chelsea.
Similarly, rival clubs are apprehensive about dealing with the club. And Sportsmail understands prospective signings are uneasy about joining Chelsea, given Abramovich’s connections to Putin.
Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss (R) says he could form part of a consortium to purchase the club
In Ukraine meanwhile, Kyiv was struck by four large explosions overnight as dramatic images revealed a near-totally destroyed tower block in the nearby city of Borodyanka as Russian forces kept up their bombardment on the Ukrainian capital.
Dramatic images emerged today of a strike on Borodyanka carried out by Russian forces on Wednesday, which was followed by four more strikes on Kyiv itself overnight that targeted the main train station and radio and TV stations in the city.
But the capital has so-far been spared the worst of Russian shelling – inflicted on the likes of Mariupol and Kharkiv – because a 40-mile convoy of vehicles intended to take it out has been stuck nearby for three days without making any progress.
The head of the convoy is still around 18 miles from the centre of Kyiv, Britain’s MoD said early Thursday, and meeting ‘staunch’ resistance from Ukrainian forces as it gave an upbeat assessment of logistical problems that seem to be plaguing Moscow’s forces as they try to encircle the capital.
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