- Sven-Goran Eriksson has admitted he told Roman Abramovich to buy Chelsea
- Ex-England boss suggested the Russian to keep away from Tottenham and go for the Blues
- Eriksson claimed Abramovich took his recommendation and purchased membership inside 24 hours
Sven-Goran Eriksson has admitted he told Roman Abramovich to buy Chelsea as a substitute of Tottenham as a result of they would want much less enchancment.
In 2003, Russian billionaire Abramovich was eager to enter the Premier League and buy a Premier League membership.
And the oligarch, who has ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin, requested Eriksson for recommendation on whether or not to take over Spurs or the Blues.
And in new Paramount+ documentary Fever Pitch, Eriksson reveals when Abramovich told him he needed to ‘win’, the Swede insisted he go for the west London somewhat than the north London membership as a result of there he solely wanted to buy ‘half a staff’ – the implication being Spurs wanted extra drastic modifications than that.
Eriksson stated: ‘He needed me to give recommendation on which membership to buy, Chelsea or Tottenham.
‘So I requested him: “What do you want to do with the club?”. “Win,” he stated.
‘And I stated to him “If you want to win, Chelsea, because you only need to buy half a team”.
‘Then, I believe inside 24 hours… (he purchased them).’
Chelsea have been famend for being ruthless in hiring and firing managers beneath Abramovich, however gained 21 trophies throughout his 19 years in cost between 2003 and 2022.
But he was broadly criticised for making an attempt to enter the staff into the failed breakaway European Super League venture in 2021.
And the next 12 months, after Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine led by Putin, Abramovich was pressured to step down after the UK authorities froze his belongings and the Premier League disqualified him as a international proprietor.
In May 2022, US tycoon Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital purchased the membership from Abramovich in an enormous world-record £4.25billion deal.
The membership has struggled this season, sacking bosses Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter regardless of Boehly’s insistence he would do issues in another way in contrast to Abramovich’s notorious impatience.
All episodes of FEVER PITCH: THE BATTLE FOR THE PREMIER LEAGUE can be found from seventh May 2023 completely on Paramount+.