Incredible Transfers: London's Chelsea Shocks the Football World

London's Chelsea, participating in the English Premier League, is astonishing the entire football world by making an unbelievable number of transfers during the 2022-2023 season, totaling over $600 million.

For comparison, the 20 Italian clubs have made transfers totaling $869 million, the 20 French clubs $762 million, the 20 Spanish clubs $608 million, and the 18 German clubs $604 million. Notably, only Chelsea's total has reached $666 million.

It is worth mentioning that Chelsea’s most expensive transfer was Enzo Fernandez, whom Chelsea bought from Portuguese club Benfica for $120 million, setting a record for the highest transfer fee in Premier League history.

However, these changes have not significantly benefitted the English team, as they currently sit in the 9th position of the Premier League standings. Earlier, Chelsea's head coach Graham Potter stated that the club would start spending more conservatively on transfers. “I don’t think the spending will remain the same. We have refreshed the squad, and I think we will certainly approach the next transfer windows differently,” Potter was quoted by Sky Sports.

It is important to remember that after the onset of the special operation in Ukraine, the English Premier League club Chelsea, one of the best clubs owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, was purchased by a consortium of businessmen, including American billionaire Todd Boehly, for $5 billion. Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003. In March 2022, he announced his decision to sell the club, shortly after which he found himself on the sanctions list decided by the British government due to the war against Ukraine.

Abramovich is considered one of the richest businessmen in the world. He is known as an oligarch who has established close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and enjoys Kremlin patronage. Abramovich himself insists that he does not participate in political life. He holds citizenship in Russia, Israel, and Portugal. He obtained Israeli citizenship after being unable to extend his British visa in 2018, leading him to relocate from London to Tel Aviv.

In response to the Russian-Ukrainian war, Great Britain has imposed extensive sanctions on Russia and several wealthy Russians; however, no personal sanctions have been taken against Abramovich.