‘No other owner was on Roman Abramovich’s level, in terms of investment and ambition. In my opinion, he was the best club owner in world football’ John Terry recalls the impact Chelsea’s former owner made on English football

It’s no exaggeration to say that Roman Abramovich’s purchase of Chelsea in June 2003 one of one the most seismic developments in English football history.

The Russian billionaire ushered in the Premier League’s oligarch era, transforming every aspect of the club, from their new Cobham training ground to an eye-watering transfer market spending spree.

A 50-year wait for the title was quickly ended, heralding in the most successful period of the club’s history, but before his arrival, no-one in English football knew what to expect.

John Terry on Roman Abramovich’s arrival

Chelsea won just about every trophy going under the Russian (Image credit: Alamy)John Terry – who would go on to be ranked at no.23 in FourFourTwo’ list of the greatest English players ever – had established himself in the Chelsea first team at the time of Abramovich’s takeover and would go on to assume the captain’s armband for more than a decade, but admits he did not know what the Russian’s arrival would mean for the club.

“I knew nothing about Roman, but then you started to hear reports about his wealth and ideas for the club,” Terry recalls to FourFourTwo. “He arrived and the investment began – a new training ground and state-of-the-art facilities.

Abramovich was disqualified by the Premier League and sold the club in 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Image credit: Press Association)“We had been sharing facilities with a local college. He instantly made it more professional.

“And superstars started arriving, which is all fun and games until good centre-backs come in and your team-mates are saying you might lose your spot!

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“It’s just banter, but you think, ‘Hold on, I’m not too keen on this’. It pushed me to another level, though. I knew top-class players were coming in and they wanted my position.”

Chelsea would go on to win the Premier League after Abramovich’s second year owning the club, which was their first league title since the 1954-55 season and Terry says this all down to the former owner’s singular focus.

John Terry has hailed Abramovich’s impact at the club (Image credit: Getty)“Roman’s message was clear: he wanted success and he wanted it now,” Terry continues. “You could either buy into that and fight to be a part of it, or you could fall by the wayside.

“No other owner was on Roman’s level, in terms of investment and ambition. In my opinion, he was the best club owner in world football.”