Chelsea (Soccer Team)
Christian Pulisic, Set to Lead USMNT at World Cup, Counts the Minutes at Chelsea
LONDON — The players bounced on their toes, the ball was placed on the spot, and Christian Pulisic eased into what has become his regular position for Chelsea these days: a seat. It was a good seat, to be fair, in the second row of the Chelsea dugout, with a perfect view of Chelsea’s showdown […]
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Premier League Preview: Has Arsenal Pulled It Together? Will United Fall Apart?
Somehow, it is that time again. Cue the dramatic music, crank up the content generator and get ready to absorb the hottest takes around: the Premier League season is upon us once again. Quite what form this edition of soccer’s great hubristic soap opera will take is, of course, not yet clear. That, after all, […]
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Inside the Chelsea Sale: Deep Pockets, Private Promises and Side Deals
LONDON — The British government on Wednesday gave its blessing to the purchase of Chelsea F.C., one of European soccer’s blue-ribbon teams, by an American-led investment group after deciding it had sufficient assurances that none of the proceeds from the record sale price — $3.1 billion — would flow to the club’s Russian owner. The […]
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Chelsea F.C. Will Be Sold to Boehly’s U.S.-Led Group
Abramovich invested nearly $2 billion of his personal funds during his 19-year tenure as owner, during which he covered losses of about $1 million a week as he recruited some of the best players in the world. The strategy was expensive but successful: Chelsea enjoyed the most successful period in its history, becoming a serial […]
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Real Madrid Edges Chelsea to Reach Champions League Semifinals
MADRID — The noise rose and swelled with every second that ticked, changing timbre and tone as it did so. It started with whistles, desperate and urgent, only to turn into something closer to a roar, formless and elemental, filled with angst and anticipation, as if the sound itself could ward off any more suffering. […]
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Karim Benzema Carries Real Madrid Over Chelsea
LONDON — Luka Modric has, by this stage, seen pretty much all there is to see. He has won four Champions League titles. He has played in a World Cup final. He has spent a decade at Real Madrid, embedded among some of the finest players of his generation. He is one of the finest […]
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How Roman Abramovich Used Shell Companies and Wall Street Ties to Invest in the U.S.
In July 2012, a shell company registered in the British Virgin Islands wired $20 million to an investment vehicle in the Cayman Islands that was controlled by a large American hedge fund firm. The wire transfer was the culmination of months of work by a small army of handlers and enablers in the United States, […]
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How Roman Abramovich, a Russian Oligarch, Found Himself Under Sanctions
As Russian troops massed near the border with Ukraine last month, the American ambassador to Israel received an appeal on behalf of Roman Abramovich, the most visible of the billionaires linked to President Vladimir V. Putin. Leaders of cultural, educational and medical institutions, along with a chief rabbi, had sent a letter urging the United […]
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Roman Abramovich, Owner of Chelsea FC, Has Assets Frozen By Britain
The future of Chelsea F.C., one of Europe’s leading soccer teams, was thrust into uncertainty on Thursday when the British government froze the assets of the club’s Russian oligarch owner, Roman Abramovich, as part of a wider set of sanctions announced against a group of wealthy Russian businessmen. The government, in announcing its actions against […]
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