Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich left furious over ESL withdrawal

After what has been an incredible week of football news, the aftershocks of such a seismic shift are due to be felt for many more to come. 

Although the European Super League looks dead and buried, fans will still be reeling about the choice their club may have made, to abandon the traditional pyramid with dollar signs for motivation.

The owners themselves will now have to evaluate what went wrong, and how – and fast.

Chelsea mogul Roman Abramovich is reportedly left seething by the week’s events, which saw Chelsea the first English side to withdraw from the Florentino Perez-led breakaway league.

The Mirror details that Abramovich is ‘furious’ at how the saga played out with fears over his long-term reputation.

The report goes on to say that the Russian trusted the judgement of Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck – that the league was in the Blues’ best interests.

Chelsea fans make clear their opinions before the club’s Premier League clash with Brighton on Tuesday.

When supporters’ true opinions became apparent, he was reportedly left ‘blindsided’, and is furious over damage to his legacy.

Chelsea released a statement late on Tuesday night saying: “As reported earlier this evening, Chelsea Football Club can confirm that it has begun the formal procedures for withdrawal from the group developing plans for a European Super League.

“Having joined the group late last week, we have now had time to consider the matter fully and have decided that our continued participation in these plans would not be in the best interests of the Club, our supporters or the wider football community.”

Chelsea supporters had protested outside the stadium on Tuesday night, before their game against Brighton.

Although Abramovich no longer attends matches due to a visa issue, it’s clear that he has felt the effect of these protests – which only leaves the question, could any of these billionaire bosses really thought the ESL was a good idea?