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Abramovich Saved the Dream Team Chelsea
At the stock exchange shares of the club marked a record price rise, says Prof. Dimiter Ivanov from London*
- Professor, how did they comment in London the sensational news - I mean the purchase of Chelsea FC by Russian businessman Abramovich?
- This is the hottest news of the day, because it's the second great sensation both in Great Britain and on the world football market this summer. Today (ed.'s note - yesterday) David, Beckham captain of the GB national team, was transferred to Real. But the news about Chealsea made even greater furor. First it's the biggest club purchase in the history of British football. In a conservative country like Britain that is famous for sticking to traditions of all kinds Chelsea is seen as a historic institution, be it in sports, culture of public media. Thus, the incursion of Russian capitals is an extremely significant event not only in sports, but also in the business world. The shares of Chelsea on the stock exchange went up immediately by 33.7-34 pence compared with Tuesday when they sold for 12 pence. The experts from the London City commented the news favorably.
- What is the financial status of Chelsea now?
- The club amassed huge debts, some 100 million pounds. After some transfers during the summer the sum dropped to 80 million. Shouldering these liabilities gives to Chelsea a square chance to recover.
- What do you think of the fact that the conservative Britain allowed a big Russian businessman to buy its national football club?
- From the economic angle of vision it shows that Russia took a turn to the better, its economy is reviving. The country opens doors to foreign investors not only on the home market, its big businessmen actually enter foreign markets. It's a pity that Bulgarian business community cannot boast of such international transactions. Bulgaria remains a small closed country stuck with its selfish and short-term interests. Bulgaria pays no heed to world tendencies in business. The news is also symbolic, because we are talking about global economy where East and West compete on a par. And the fact that the present owner of Chelsea, Ken Bates, decided to sell the club to a Russian businessman, testifies that people in Britain have modern vision. To them the state borders or nationality of different business entities have no importance whatsoever. The purchase of Chelsea is just one more evidence that a European economy cooperates openly with all other economies in the world. The most significant sign is that such an institution as Chelsea was allowed to be sold to a Russian. And, last but not least, this indicates that Russian business is expanding throughout the world. The Russians have interests not only in metallurgy and petrol, but also in mass media and sports.
Vassil Zakhariev
* Prof. Dimiter Ivanov is the economic advisor to President Georgi Parvanov and coordinator of his foreign economic council.
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