Poison, Putin & Abramovich: Where is the Chelsea sale money?

Gabby and Mark hear the behind the scenes story of the attempted poisoning of former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the snap sale of the London football club. Abramovich very rarely speaks publicly but broke his silence in a new book and we’re joined today by the author, Nick Purewal. When Abramovic sold Chelsea for £2.5bn, the money was meant to go to victims of conflict - a huge sum that could change the face of global humanitarian aid. But three years later it's still frozen in a UK bank account. To explain why we're joined by the man who'll be heading up the foundation to give out that money, former Executive Director of Unicef UK, Mike Penrose. Plus, Britain's most successful female racing driver, Jamie Chadwick, tells us about the realities of racing the 24 hours of Le Mans, with 30 minutes sleep, night driving through BBQ smoke and more. And Mark & Gabby's early verdict on the Club World Cup and Wales women's Euros squad announcement from the top of Snowdon. In response to the comments made in this podcast Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “The Government is determined to see the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine, following Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion. We are deeply frustrated that it has not been possible to reach agreement on this with Mr Abramovich so far. While the door for negotiations will remain open, we are fully prepared to pursue this through the courts if required, to ensure people suffering in Ukraine can benefit from these proceeds as soon as possible.”You can watch the full episode on our YouTube channel here. "Sanctioned: The Inside Story of the Sale of Chelsea FC" is out now.Executive Producer: Adonis PratsidesProducer: Sophie PenneyVideo Producer: Sam TrudgillSocial Media Editor: Calum ScotlandGuest Booker: Kirsty GiddingsTom Hughes is Editor for The News Agents podcast networkVicky Etchells is the Commissioning Editor for GlobalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The Sports Agents".The Sports Agents have merch! You can buy yours now here!