For the Russian Roman Abramovich, today was an absolute nightmare. His staff informed him that Kenneth Bates, the chairman of Chelsea, who had initially shown interest in their offer after in-depth discussions, had suddenly changed his mind and politely declined. This infuriated Abramovich, as he thought Bates was simply trying to drive the price up. It wasn't until he inquired further that he learned someone had offered a higher price. The notion that someone was outbidding him for Chelsea, when they had money to burn, was utterly intolerable.
Subsequently, an investigation was carried out, and then... there was no follow-up. After accessing the buyer's name and the bid through his own channels, Abramovich fell silent and then gave up on reclaiming Chelsea. It wasn't that he couldn't afford a higher price—media reports of his billions were just the tip of the iceberg. The world's most profitable businesses were none other than energy and armaments.
