Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich literally saved the Football Club and changed their direction entirely when he bought it from Ken Bates in 2003.
Ever since that day, the Russian billionaire has not looked back and continued to make investment after investment into the club, a club that he loves dearly.
However, this was pretty close to not happening at all, and it could have been Chelsea’s London rivals Tottenham that were taken over by Abramovich and the success that followed, as he was also considering buying them.
According to The Athletic (cited by The Daily Mail), Abramovich rejected the chance to buy Spurs after he met with current owner Daniel Levy who tried to convince him to take 29.9% stake in shares.
Abramovich wanted full control of a club and opted to buy Chelsea instead, with Bates happy to sell up entirely.
And then the rest, as they say, is history!
