Saif Alrubie arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London, where he is charged with sending Marina Granovskaia, 47, an electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety.
Saif Alrubie has backed down in his battle against Chelsea
Saif Alrubie has dropped his multi-million-pound lawsuit against Chelsea, but claims he is still pursuing the club’s former director Marina Granovskaia.
Telegraph Sport revealed that Chelsea had applied for Alrubie’s claim with the London Circuit Commercial Court, over fees he says are owed to him from the sale of defender Kurt Zouma, to be dropped.
Despite initially issuing an angry response to that application through a spokesperson, Alrubie has now backed down in his battle against the club, but insists he has not dropped his claim against Granovskaia.
On Friday, a spokesperson for Alrubie said: “We have discontinued our High Court action against Chelsea and continue to pursue Miss Granovskaia for her primary role in the breach of contract.”
Alrubie filed the claim with the London Circuit Commercial Court against Chelsea and Granovskaia more than four months after being found not guilty at Southwark Crown Court of sending a threatening email to the club’s former director.
In a statement, Alrubie said that the club’s co-owners, Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly, should “right this wrong” over fees he claims are owed to him over the sale of Zouma to West Ham United in August 2021.
Chelsea argued claim was filed incorrectly
Chelsea argued the legal claim against the club had been filed incorrectly and it has now emerged that Alrubie is no longer pursuing a case against the club through the court.
A spokesperson for Alrubie had initially responded to Chelsea’s application for the claim to be thrown out by saying: “Chelsea and Ms Granovskaia have a clear interest in preventing Mr Alrubie’s claim from being heard in open court given current investigations into the club and its activities under its previous ownership.”
After being found not guilty at Southwark Crown Court of malicious communications sent to Granovskaia, Alrubie indicated that he was owed “10 times” the £300,000 commission he had initially demanded over the Zouma transfer.
The jury heard at April’s trial that Alrubie worked on the understanding that, as an intermediary on the deal, he would receive a commission on any fee received of more than €30 million.
Marina Granovskaia arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London, where Saif Alrubie is charged with sending Ms Granovskaia, 47, an electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety
Alrubie was found not guilty of malicious communications sent to Marina Granovskaia (pictured)
He later told talkSPORT: “The £300,000 was actually an amount that I was willing to accept when I didn’t know all of the facts and the truth of the transfer fee was hidden away from me.
“The judge in the trial established all of the facts, thank God. The law of the land is above any law and I’m just glad that that has vindicated everything that I’ve had to go through and the facts were black and white.”
Granovskaia claimed agent had sent her threatening email
Pressed on whether he would be pursuing millions of pounds, he replied: “Like I said, my lawyers will be dealing with that plus the interest, plus the rest.”
There has been no comment from Granovskaia over Alrubie’s claim against her and Chelsea, although it is understood she has received messages of support from Premier League owners and agents.
After appearing as a witness in the case in which Alrubie was cleared of sending her a threatening email, Granovskaia issued a statement that said: “Coming to court to give evidence in the Crown’s case against Mr Alrubie was an extremely difficult decision. I am an intensely private person, but I was willing to do my part to ensure that no one else – particularly no woman – was ever made to feel as I did upon receiving his email, a feeling this trial has revived.
“I was also minded to testify as I received messages of support from colleagues and associates in football following news of Mr Alrubie’s arrest, including some who have had dealings with him over the years.”
‘I do not miss is the difficult and ugly side of football’
Alrubie’s email was sent in May 2022, just before Granovskaia was put on gardening leave by Chelsea following the takeover of the club. He was arrested at Heathrow upon his arrival on a flight from Brussels in Sept 2022.
Granovskaia’s statement added: “There are things I miss about football: my colleagues and counterparts, including some wonderful and decent agents; the players; the spirit of Chelsea; and, of course, winning trophies. One thing I do not miss is the difficult and ugly side of football. I will not be making any further comment.”
The email sent by Alrubie, dated May 22, 2022, was in relation to Zouma’s move from Chelsea to West Ham in August 2021 for £29.1m, £4.1m of which went to the defender as a severance payment, and Alrubie’s claim that he and his associates were owed £300,000 in commission.
In the email to Granovskaia, Alrubie said: “I’m sure you’ve heard the story about your other friend Kia [Joorabchian] when he owed me money for a year and how he ended up paying it. Wouldn’t want you to be in the same situation just because you have a personal issue with me.”
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