Abroad grin crossed Roman Abramovich's face as he held the trophy up to photographers.
The party was already in full swing around him and he wanted to bask in the moment himself, posing for shots as the pyrotechnics illuminated the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Chelsea's Club World Cup triumph in February 2022 was arguably the pinnacle of Abramovich's 19 years as the club's owner. The 21st trophy of a success-laden two decades at Stamford Bridge officially crowned the Blues as the world's best team, for the first time in history.
Abramovich, so often preferring to stay in the shadows rather than taking centre stage, wasn't going to miss it. He made his way down to the pitch to join the players and manager Thomas Tuchel in the celebrations in front of the cameras. The sight suggested a dynasty that would continue to hoover up even more glory in the years to come.
However, within a month everything had changed. Abramovich had announced that he was selling up and was disqualified as a director of Chelsea by the Premier League.
With their owner ostracised as a result of sanctions triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, less than two weeks after the Club World Cup final, the west London club sat on the precipice of an uncertain future.
Abramovich's assets were frozen due to his ties with the Kremlin and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Chelsea couldn't sell their own match tickets or merchandise, nor offer new player contracts, which ultimately resulted in defenders Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen leaving on free transfers.
A US merchant bank, Raine Group, was appointed to find a buyer, with Abramovich having no say on his successor. This reality seemed unthinkable just weeks earlier.
This story is from the October 2024 edition of FourFourTwo UK.
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This story is from the October 2024 edition of FourFourTwo UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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