Sven-Goran Eriksson reveals he told Roman Abramovich to buy Chelsea
Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson disclosed that he advised Roman Abramovich to purchase Chelsea over Tottenham Hotspur in 2003.
Before buying an English top-flight club in the Premier League, Abramovich sought Eriksson’s advice on whether to acquire Spurs or the Blues. In all fairness, the Swede knew ball as he pointed the Russian oligarch towards Stamford Bridge.
The club saw enormous growth under Russian billionaire Abramovich after he purchased Chelsea in 2003. Between 2003 and 2022, his 19 years as manager of Chelsea saw the club win 21 trophies. Subsequently, Abramovich was sanctioned due to his strong links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who initiated the war in Ukraine.
And in a new Paramount documentary, (h/t Daily Mail), Eriksson disclosed that the Russian billionaire wanted a competitive club. Given that we were up against Tottenham, there could only have been one winner.
As a result, the Swedish football manager advised Abramovich to choose a West London club because they would require less development to become a competitive club. Eriksson added:
”He wanted me to give advice on which club to buy: Chelsea or Tottenham. So I asked him, What do you want to do with the club? Win.
‘’And I said to him, If you want to win, Chelsea, because you only need to buy half a team. Then, I think within 24 hours, he bought them.”
We are really grateful to Eriksson for advising Abramovich to select Chelsea over Spurs. It was under the Russian billionaire that we truly rose to the top of London, the Premier League, and Europe.
Because he only wanted what was best for the club, during the Abramovich era, we witnessed the ruthless firing of managers and the signing of top-tier players. We won the Premier League the next year after I became the new owner of Chelsea in 2003 and later two Champions League.
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The situation would have been different, though, if he had acquired ownership of the Spurs and unde rhim they could have been a more successful club in London. Now that Todd Boehly is our new owner, he will have his own rules to follow and a different strategy than Abramovich.