Frank Arnesen’s name appears in a large-scale investigation The Guardian into payments made at Chelsea under former owner Roman Abramovich. The Danish technical director is said to have received a large amount of money during his time at Stamford Bridge, according to reports from England.
According to the English newspaper, Arnesen, who worked for Chelsea between 2005 and 2010, received the equivalent of 287,000 euros in his account. The former director of Feyenoord and PSV, among others, received the sum of money through a company that was not affiliated with the West London club.
Arnesen leaves a comment The Guardian know that he did not knowingly break the rules and that he had expected to receive the discretionary bonus directly from Chelsea, and not from another company. He said he knew nothing about any incorrect actions and also duly declared the amount to the English tax authorities.
Lemic
In the extensive investigation into Chelsea’s payment situation under Abramovich, Vlado Lemic’s name also comes up. The agent is said to have received some amounts of money between 2005 and 2012 in connection with transfer deals that cannot be explained. This includes the transfer of Arjen Robben from PSV to Chelsea in 2004.
Lemic’s name also appears in the investigation into possible conflicts of interest of former technical director Sven Mislintat in incoming transfers from Ajax last summer. Lemic was involved, among other things, in the arrival of Benjamin Tahirovic to Amsterdam.
Abramovich
The Guardian managed to reveal in March that Abramovich was secretly involved in the takeover of Vitesse in 2010. Leaked documents showed that the Russian businessman used at least 117 million euros from 2015 to acquire Vitesse into English hands. The Arnhem club and Abramovich himself, who left Chelsea in 2022, have always denied the alleged financing.
In the case of Chelsea, it is being investigated whether the rules were broken with the various secret payments. The leaked documents show that tens of millions of euros were paid out through special constructions. Experts expect that the questionable transactions could, in the worst case, lead to a penalty from the Premier League, such as points deductions.