Premier League

Chelsea manager Tuchel meets Abramovich for first time after Champions League win… and admits it ‘can only get worse’

Published

30th May 2021

CHELSEA boss Thomas Tuchel met owner Roman Abramovich for the first time in Porto… and admits it can only go downhill from here.

Tuchel was appointed in January after the notoriously trigger-happy Russian billionaire axed club legend Frank Lampard.

Thomas Tuchel met Roman Abramovich for the first time after winning the Champions League final

Roman Abramovich was in Porto to celebrate as Chelsea beat Man City

At the time, the Blues appeared massive outsiders to even qualify for the Champions League, let alone win it.

Now, after watching Kai Havertz down Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in Saturday’s final, the German is now the toast of West London.

But Tuchel, 47, knows he may have a fight on his hands to keep it that way… even if a new contract may be in the offing.

The former PSG boss said: “I think I have a new contract already.

“My manager said something to me about it – but I don’t know for sure.

“It was a special moment to meet the owner for the first time on the pitch.

“It was the best time for that – or maybe the worst because it can only get worse after this.”

Abramovich, 54, was Portugal making the most a rare opportunity to watch the Blues, who has owned since 2003.

And he was seen high-fiving former Blues striker Andriy Shevchenko after Havertz put them 1-0 up.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was pictured watching Chelsea in the Champions League final in Porto

And he was sat just behind former Blues striker Andriy Shevchenko

Visa issues mean the Russian has not been able to watch Chelsea at home in more than three years

Visa issues have meant the Russian has not been able to watch the Blues play at Stamford Bridge in more than three years but the billionaire made sure he was in Porto for their European showdown on Saturday night.

SunSport’s star snapper Richard Pelham pictured the oligarch making his way to his seat in the Estadio do Dragao.

He was dressed in his trademark casual attire complete with face mask and was seen celebrating wildly after Havertz opened the scoring.

Abramovich’s visa issues meant he had never met his latest appointment into the Stamford Bridge hot-seat.

But he recently reiterated his commitment to Chelsea despite his UK exile.

It is believed Abramovich had was watched just three live games – Chelsea’s Europa League final against Arsenal in 2019, a friendly against RB Salzburg a month later and the win over Krasnodar last October – since leaving London for Israel in April 2018.

The visa hold-up came amid tension between the UK and Russia after the Skripal poisoning.

In the years since his last visit, there have been on-off rumours that the Blues had been put up for sale, with the Russian – who recently jumped to eighth in the Sunday Times Rich List – reportedly looking for more than £2bn.

But in a rare interview with Forbes, Abramovich doubled down on his desire to lead Chelsea into the future after last summer’s huge £222million transfer spend.