Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich proudly watched as the Blues clinched their second Champions League title last night after recording an impressive victory over Man City in Portugal. In the second time of his tenure as Chelsea owner, the Russian billionaire got to watch his side claim the biggest prize in European football since their debut win in 2012 in that historic night in Munich.
Abramovich had not had the luxury of watching his team’s matches in person since his visa expired in 2018 but had flown into Porto for last night’s Champions League final against Manchester City and, like all Blues fans across the world, was a nervous spectator throughout.
Record-signing Kai Havertz’s first-half goal was the solitary match winner and after the full-time whistle was blown and the wild celebrations kicked off on the pitch, Abramovich left his seat and made his way down to the players’ tunnel from which he watched the Blues lift the trophy.
He then waited by the entrance to the tunnel to congratulate every Chelsea player as they made for the dressing room, reserving his warmest greetings for Cesar Azpilicueta.
The Spaniard and Abramovich hugged before Azpilicuta, as captured by Chelsea’s in-house media, said: “It’s yours. I don’t know where the trophy is, but I’ll bring it to you.”
Azpilicueta moved away from Abramovich before returning seconds later, with the trophy not in hand. Regardless, he asked the Chelsea owner a simple straightforward question: “Are you happy?”
With a big smile on his face, Abramovich replied: “Yeah, of course. Absolutely!”
This was also the night when Thomas Tuchel was finally able to meet and speak to his big boss and club owner Abramovich for the first time since taking charge at Stamford Bridge in January, having dealt all the while only with Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech.
The German admitted their conversation was short but insists they will sit down and talk properly in the coming days.
“I spoke to the owner right now on the pitch. I think it was the best moment for a first meeting. Or the worst as from now on it can only get worse! We will speak [more] later and tomorrow and I’m looking forward to this.
“I can assure him I’ll stay hungry, that I want the next title, I feel absolutely happy and part of a really ambitious club and a strong group that suits my beliefs and passions about football in this moment perfectly.
“My desire is go for more victories, my desire is to push the group from the first day of next season to the limit. We have work to do to close the gap and this is what I am all about.
“It will be nice to meet him a bit closer. We are in contact, not personal, but we are in constant contact. He knows what’s going on from me directly. It was nice to meet him.”