“One has to look at how he's amassed his wealth. That 'stolen' money is bankrolling Chelsea. It has been a deeply corrosive influence on British football."
“He bought Chelsea for protection. He knew there was a risk Putin would come after him and he knew one of the best ways of protecting himself was to associate himself with a highly visible British asset - and he chose Chelsea Football Club."
“There’s no real emotional background to that, that was a decision from a very ruthless and manipulative businessman”
"So to talk about it in terms of 'Oh he's great because he's invested in British football' look at the reason he did and look at the money he's using"
Journalist Matthew Syed's comments have resurfaced and they're causing serious debate.