Back to the Chelsea Newsfeed

IAN HERBERT: No-one should be surprised if ruthless Roman Abramovich reneges on writing off Chelsea's £1.6bn debt to him… if he had any sentiment whatsoever he would have at least privately challenged Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine

The story of Rafa Benitez's Sunday evening at Roman Abramovich's Kensington mansion reveals that you are lured into trusting the Russian at your peril. That vague, seemingly coy countenance he presents is extremely deceptive.

It was January 2013 and Benitez was doing a good job of picking up the pieces at Chelsea when, hours after a 2-1 win over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, he ended up at Kensington Palace Gardens for a soiree that finished with him playing indoor football with Abramovich's children.

The Spaniard could have been forgiven for thinking he perhaps stood a chance of seeing his temporary management role made permanent, with only three league defeats to follow in the second half of the season.