Roman Abramovich was forced to sell Chelsea in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine more than three-and-a-half years ago, and John Terry is not happy with how the situation played out.
John Terry of Chelsea watches on from the stands during the Premier League 2 match between Chelsea U21 v Manchester City U21 at Kingsmeadow.
John Terry has slammed the UK government for their treatment of Roman Abramovich.
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Chelsea legend John Terry has launched a scathing attack on the UK government over Roman Abramovich's forced sale of the Blues following Russia's invasion of Ukraine more than three-and-a-half years ago. The Russian businessman purchased Chelsea in 2003 and presided over an incredibly successful era for the West London club.
Boris Johnson's Conservative government sanctioned Abramovich in March 2022, freezing his assets. He subsequently sold the club to a Todd Boehly-led consortium.
The sanctions against Abramovich remain active under Sir Keir Starmer's Labour government, with the £2.5billion generated from the club's sale still frozen in a UK bank account. Terry has now expressed his fury over how matters unfolded.
"I think he's one of the nicest people you could ever meet in your life," Terry said on The Obi One Podcast.
"I think it's disgusting what happened to him, I really do. I think as a UK government we should be embarrassed by our actions towards him.
"What he did during lockdown and what he did for the NHS was sensational. He opened up Stamford Bridge to all the nurses and gave people homes during that difficult time. He was just a lovely, lovely man who loved our football club and thankfully turned away from one other football club and made the right decision to come."
Terry further opened up on his relationship with Abramovich, stating: "I think everyone had a really good relationship with him. I have to say one of the nicest people you could ever meet in your life.
"The old training ground was a s***h***. And he came in and he was like, 'No, we're not training there.' And very shortly after that we bought Cobham, and he turned it into what it is today, giving us opportunities like that to perform on the best pitches, the best facilities, the best staff, improvements on the stadium."
Chelsea player Didier Drogba presents Roman Abramovic with the Champions League trophy after winning the penalty shoot out during UEFA Champions League Final between FC Bayern Miunich and Chelsea.
Roman Abramovic oversaw a successful time as owner of Chelsea.
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Terry also highlighted Abramovich's investment in the players and fans, adding: "He was invested in you guys as well (the players). He would come to us and go, 'We're paying for supporters to travel to Bolton this weekend because it's after a Champions League game.' That happened quite a bit under Roman, he was invested in that. One of the nicest people you could ever meet in your life."
Abramovich's sale of Chelsea is detailed in a book titled Sanctioned, which was released earlier this year.
In an interview conducted in Dubai prior to the book's launch, the 59 year old said: "Perhaps one day there would be a situation where I could attend a [Chelsea] match and say a proper goodbye, but nothing more than that.
"I don't have any interest in any role in a football club, certainly not a professional role."
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