Sanctioned

The sale of Chelsea Football Club in 2022 was one of the highest-profileand most controversial sports transactions of all time. In the shadow ofRussia’s invasion of Ukraine, what unfolded after Roman Abramovich was forcedto put his beloved club up for sale would change English football for ever.Under the threat of bankruptcy and ruin, Chelsea pulled off a complextransaction in a quarter of the time many analysts would normally set aside forsuch a deal. Sanctioned is the definitive account of this unique period.

Through unprecedented access to Abramovich himself and furtherinterviews with a star-studded footballing cast, Nick Purewal unfolds awide-ranging tale of political sanctions, hushed negotiations and ColdWar-style geopolitics, all told against a backdrop of war on the edge ofEurope.

From the club’s owners to its staff, players and supporters, via UKgovernment intervention, dramatic peace talks and even a foul-play poisoningepisode, Sanctioned chronicles ninety-five extraordinary days in Englishfootball.

NickPurewal is a freelance reporter and writer with twenty years' experience innews and sports journalism. Nick reported on the entirety of the Chelsea salein his role as Chelsea correspondent at the Press Association, breaking theworld exclusive that Roman Abramovich was working to help the early peaceprocess between Russia and Ukraine, and later the shock news that key biddersthe Ricketts family had pulled out of the race to buy the club.

Beginninghis career at the Grimsby Telegraph, Nick has also worked for the NewcastleChronicle, the Gloucester Citizen and the Evening Standardand now freelances for a variety of national outlets in addition toghostwriting books and working on other long-format projects.

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