Sanctioned

The sale of Chelsea FCin 2022 was one of the highest-profile and most controversial sportstransactions of all time. In the shadow of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, RomanAbramovich was forced to put his beloved club up for sale, and under the threatof bankruptcy and ruin, Chelsea pulled off a complex transaction in three tenseand troubling months. Sanctioned chronicles those ninety-fiveextraordinary days in English football.Through unprecedentedaccess to Abramovich himself, key figures from Chelsea’s new ownership and astar-studded footballing cast, Nick Purewal unfolds a wide-ranging tale ofpolitical sanctions, hushed negotiations, Cold War-style geopolitics and even afoul-play poisoning episode, all set against the backdrop of a drawn-out war onthe edge of Europe.Four years on, thefunds from the Chelsea sale, earmarked for humanitarian causes, remained frozenin a bank account. In this updated edition, Nick Purewal charts the fraughtpolitical and legal battles to unlock this capital, as well as the highs andlows of Chelsea’s 2025–26 season – from headline-grabbing wins to dramaticstaff exits and mammoth fines.

Nick Purewalis a freelance reporter and writer with more than twenty years’ experience innews and sports journalism. Nick reported on the entirety of the Chelsea salein his role as Chelsea correspondent at the Press Association, breaking theworld exclusive that Roman Abramovich was working to help the early peaceprocess between Russia and Ukraine and later the shock news that key biddersthe Ricketts family had pulled out of the race to buy the club. Beginning his careerat the Grimsby Telegraph, Nick has also worked for the NewcastleChronicle, the Gloucester Citizen and the Evening Standard andnow freelances for a variety of national outlets in addition to ghostwritingbooks and working on other longform projects.