Eugene Tenenbaum, Chelsea's Director of Football, has recently discussed Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's decision-making during the Coronavirus, and why his purchase and motivations for the club are linked to it.

The Ukrainian told American business magazine Forbes about how Abramovich has been using his position to combat the Coronavirus in London and the UK as a whole.

Abramovich has offered Stamford Bridge's hotel to hospitals in London for their staff to use, as well as having two team doctors join the NHS on the frontlines.

"He did not want extra stress around the club and community in such a trying time," Tenenbaum explained. 

"He likes to understand what a project is about and involve himself for the long-term. He likes a drive for results, he likes to win and he wants to help out."

  • "...It's not an algorithm."

 

The Ukrainian also told Forbes about how Abramovich purchased the club due to his love for the sport, as well as the business climate in the UK. 

The Russian oil magnate purchased the club from Ken Bates in 2003 for £18 million, and has invested billions from his own pocket into the club. 

"He likes to figure things out," explained Tenenbaum. "I think the reason why he loves football after all of these years is that it’s not a formula. It’s not an algorithm. I think that is why people love it and why it is the number one sport in the world.

"There are so many factors. There are 11 players on the pitch. But there’s the coach who is critical. There’s the support staff which are critical. There’s the medical staff which are critical.

"There’s the facilities which are critical. There’s the nutrition which is critical. There’s the fans which are critical. There are people who analyse the statistics which are critical. There are so many elements in that as a business as well. Every business has many elements but I don’t think that you see that every week."

  • "That's the exciting part."

Clearly it's not just Abramovich that feels this way, however. Fans are also in the same boat, with weekly results affecting both the club's standing in the league table as well as their reputation around the world. 

The Russian billionaire knows this though, adds Tenenbaum, with him loving football due to its innate differences to the business side of his life.

"In football, the exciting thing is that you set the plan, you execute the plan, and then every week you have a validation or not of whether your plan is correct.

"In a business environment, you have sales figures, you have results. You set a plan, you hire the right people, you execute the plan, you assess the plan, and you change the plan as the environment changes. But in this situation, every week you have a validation or not of what your strategy is and that’s the exciting part."