I can undersatnd why a life long fan like Matthew Harding put his money into Chelsea, but even if he'd become a billionaire I doubt he would have spent as much as Roman has. In fact most chariman of clubs with deep pockets are if anything more careful with their money than one might think. Roman though spends it like there is no tommorow. To a billionarire with a 10b fortune (not all of it in liquid cash), 900m is like you or I putting 10% of our reddies into football. If it's legacy, well in a 100 years times I doubt he'll be much remembered, surely it's better to build a huge landmark monument if it is fame after the grave he wants. Note also that in Russia, there are lots of nouveua riche for sure, but millions more who are struggling. I wonder what they think of their countries resources being sepnt like this. Or put another way, if a billionaire has around 120m to burn every year, he could do so much good with that. I'm not knocking it and Russia being what it is he must have some exceptional qualities to have come from nowehere to amass that much wealth, it's just that I don't understand why he lavishes so much on Chelsea.
Disagree there, if I put 10% of my worth into football I'd be left without a big chunk! He does it, he can still afford to live the lavish lifestyle he does now. I know what you're saying though - what he's put into Chelsea is nothing to a man as wealthy as that. Roman has a passion for Chelsea which has grown and grown, he's obviously a big fan of the sport and is looking to make his own empire in it which he has successfully done! It's what separates him from the rest of the foreign owners in the PL, look at the United owners for example who are purely in it from a business point of view.
people as rich as roman do actually have money problems and one of the main problems is how to off load it all, they have so much coming in that they have to spend big, what he has spent on chelsea is a drop in the ocean to him.
Your forgetting the role of interest. Anything Roman spends, realistically he will earn back. Even in the recession the billionaires made fortunes. Roman might have £100m sitting in one bank account and is probably making £14m a year on that alone, just by doing nothing, never mind the money he is earning on a daily basis through investments etc
There probably is an underlying business idea in regards to tax or something similarr to that effect.
I believe Roman has invested his money in his homeland. Schools, hospitals and housing, ex-governor and now deputy of the regional Duma.
Have to agree that he is very different from the Yanks swanning around our clubs' boards. Roman has put his money in, and kept his gob shut as well, whereas the Yanks, to quote Virgil Tibbs from Miami Vice, are all flash but no cash.
RA has given very few interviews but in 2005,our 100 year anniversary,he said he wanted to create a dynasty to last another 100 years. He has previously mentioned too that one day he would give the club to his son. I have no reason to disbelieve him. Why anyone thinks he'll be off any time soon is beyond me.
You might want to look at what he's done for the people of Chukotka where he was governor for eight years before printing stories!
When it comes to meddling, Roman is the worst in the world. I have no doubt that if he had allowed most of his managers to get on with it, without his interference, we would now be the best and most successful Club going around. So many times he has undone a years worth of good work in his impatience. He has wasted hundreds of Millions, and destroyed , or at least severely held back good people. The crazy thing is it is all for the right reasons. A man of his position simply does not even begin to think someone else can do something better than he can. It doesn't compute. Money solves everything in his world, outside of football. It is taking an extraordinary amount of time for him to understand it doesn't work in football for more than a fleeting second. Hard work, building on success, maturing ,growing, choosing good people, delegating are all requirements of great Football clubs. As to his intentions, no one can doubt his dedication, pleasure and love of the game or his team. He has been our best ever friend and his own worst enemy.
Agreed, Roman basically made Jose leave due to him meddling in signings (ahem , Shevchenko). I am 100% positive that if Jose had stayed, Utd wouldnt have won 3 back to back titles between 2007 and 2009 and it wouldnt have taken us until 2012 to win the Champions League either.
