Full Description
The sale of Chelsea Football Club in 2022 was
one of the highest-profile and most controversial sports transactions of all
time. In the shadow of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, what unfolded after Roman
Abramovich was forced to put his beloved club up for sale would change English
football for ever. Under the threat of bankruptcy and ruin, Chelsea pulled off
a complex transaction in three tense and troubling months - a quarter of the time
many analysts would normally set aside for such a deal. Sanctioned is
the definitive account of this unique period.
Through unprecedented access to Abramovich himself
and key figures from Chelsea's new ownership, as well as further interviews
with a star-studded footballing cast, Nick Purewal unfolds a wide-ranging tale
of political sanctions, hushed negotiations and Cold War-style geopolitics, all
told in vivid, propulsive prose against a backdrop of war on the edge of
Europe.
From the club's owners to its staff, players and
supporters, via UK government intervention, dramatic peace talks and even a foul-play
poisoning episode, Sanctioned chronicles ninety-five extraordinary days
in English football.
