From the minute Roman Abramovich took over at Chelsea, people have been claiming it was his pet project, something he would pour money into and then leave to falter after he got bored. Another toy for a rich man to play with and then abandon.
However, more than a decade on, Abramovich managed to make Chelsea one of the most successful clubs in the world, and showed that he was more than able to live up to the expectations of the fans. His love for the club was clear, and the way he chased their Holy Grail of the Champions League showed how much it meant to him – his face when Chelsea finally lifted the trophy in Munich was a picture, and his son was equally elated. Chelsea was their club, and they loved it.
Roll on a few more years – and a few more managers – and the money stopped pouring in to Chelsea. Initially it looked as though Abramovich and the board were worried about FFP, and wanted to make the club more self-sufficient. That's nothing to mock – in fact, it's something to commend, yet after a couple of transfer windows of very underwhelming acquisitions, people started to question if Abramovich had lost his love for the club.
It was understandable, and coupled with the players he really knew and loved leaving – John Terry, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard et al, it seemed as though Chelsea had been coming to the end of an era for some time. Many thought it would be fine, the Blues won a Premier League title only a year ago under Antonio Conte, yet that manager is about to bite the dust, and Abramovich has been pictured less and less at games – and seems to have lost his mojo when it comes to Chelsea.
There have also been huge issues with the UK and his visa – something that prompted Abramovich to claim he would no longer be going ahead with a new £1 billion stadium for the Blues, given the UK didn't want him, so they didn't deserve his money.
That smacked of a child throwing his toys out of the pram, and there were even claims he could look to sell the club, with Chelsea valued at £1.17 billion should he decide to do so – yet when an offer came in for the club from Britain's richest man, Abramovich turned it down.
He seems committed to remaining with Chelsea – for now at least – or has a longer-term plan when it comes to selling the club, but it seems a summer of limbo and uncertainty for the Blues. Their key players aren't committing themselves to new deals, there has been little to no action on the transfer front, and they still have Antonio Conte at the helm as manager – a man many assumed was a dead man walking last season, and someone who may yet be dismissed.
The thing with Chelsea of course is many things have changed over the years – namely their managers, yet they've always had one constant – Abramovich, and he's allowed them to carry on winning no matter who has been in charge, and no one would be too shocked if that was once again the case next season.
The haters may have to wait some time yet for Abramovich to drop Chelsea – as they expected him to do all those years ago, but even if the Russian does remain at the helm of the club, there's no denying things aren't as rosy as they used to be, and that never-ending fountain of money has certainly dried up to some effect.
A second season in the last three years out of the Champions League doesn't bode well, so the question remains – is Abramovich willing to rebuild the club he loves one final time, or will he do what everyone expected him to all along, and leave them in the lurch?
