Quick hot take: Chelsea keep almost everything quiet. They didn't need to make this announcement just to have it linger and make fans/journos speculate. This was on purpose and directed at somebody/thing. Whether it's the UK government for the visa thing and now we're not going to invest in the UK, or he's threatening to sell, or something else. But this wasn't done without intent.
Also, re: visa issue - I hadn't realized, but Roman is technically not allowed to work for the club. Bad to worse: The Chelsea News Thread
How is Roman not a citizen of UK after all his investments and time he has spent in the UK? Regular working people get citizenship after 5 years I think.
Also, I think seeling is on the cards. With that said, unlike what opposing fans think, we're in great shape.
Two things that CANNOT(!) be concluded from Chelsea halting the stadium planning:1. Abramovich is interested in selling the club2. It means more money for transfers this summerI'm sure we'll learn more in the coming days.— Chelsea Rumours (@ChelseaRumours) May 31, 2018
I guess he did not apply for it. One issue is that you have to be resident in the UK during the 5 years. Do we know if he spends more than 180 days per year in the UK? I suspect he does not (for tax reasons) In which case he probably could not apply for citizenship.
Going to do what I did last summer and basically assume everything is going to be relatively alright come the start of the season.
Saw something that Roman would probably consider selling if a bid came in between 1.2-1.5b Not sure how many people/businesses/countries would offer that.
That's gotta be speculation; it's also roughly how much Chelsea owe Roman, so that's where that might come from. I don't really think he's going to sell.
We rode the highs with Roman, we will ride the lows as well. That said, I wouldn't mind an Arab investor with money to burn
Conjecture alert. Let's say that Roman doesn't push for a UK visa and ultimately steps back from the club financially. We have a solid foundation in place so we are not going to disappear nor will we even be back to where we were pre-roman. However, I think it would be reasonable to look at the league and see that in these circumstances (no more transfer seasons of quarter billion dollar splurges for instance) we will fall away from being regular title challengers and become more like arsenal are now and looking at top 4 as a goal. Along with this would likely see a drop off over time of the fanbase and those sought after tourist and corporate pounds. It won't evaporate to nothing but that money is flimsy at best. It's reasonable to conceive that a huge new stadium in such a world may not be 100% a good thing and may actually be something of a white elephant. Who knows, but it is possible. (Personally, I think that thinning out some of the fanboy crowd is no bad thing in and of itself. If those who are only here because we win walk away if we don't, good riddance, plenty of other choices. Most here are around for the long haul I'm sure but plenty of others out there already lining up their barca and citeh shirts). The other angle to think about is the squad itself. Whilst we may not be buying first team talent on the reg we would far more likely see what many here want, introduction of more homegrowns. The positive is that it is much cheaper but the risk is you are at the mercy of the players you have, so it is not reliable year on year. Without big cash injections we would also need to anticipate becoming a selling club who would have to listen to big offers for our best and brightest which would be tough. Overall, with Roman or without, we will be just fine but may see our ambitions somewhat tempered. If he leaves we still have a heck of a legacy and are far stronger now than we ever were before. There are pros and cons either way. Not conjecture: We will always have Munich and as a kid reading Sunday match reports as the only Chelsea coverage available, never in a million years would I think we would have something like that day in our future. For the memories alone, I am eternally grateful.
It all depends on Roman. He thought he wanted to start the youth movement under AVB. Pulled the rug when he realized there'd be no winning. We shall see.
Yep. But he doesn’t meet the requirements. spent no more than 450 days outside the UK during those 5 years spent no more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months had settlement (‘indefinite leave to remain’) in the UK for the last 12 months if you’re from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) He could have applied for ILR after 2,3, or 5 years but probably didnt meet the requirements on no more than 180 days spent outside the U.K. in a rolling 12 month period. My guess is given his level of investment in the U.K. he never thought he’d be refused an extension.
I wouldn't be surprised if exceptions are made under certain circumstances and no doubt he has an army of lawyers advising him. This feels like it is being heavily influenced by the strained diplomatic relations with Russia given the poisoning incident and his visa extension is collateral damage. Visas like this have to be highly political.
I have lived in the UK for a little under 65 years, yet I still do not have UK citizenship. True I could apply but I am not sure I would pass the English test