KEN BATES went from a council estate to being Chelsea’s owner and is now living the high life in Monaco.
The British businessman took control of the Blues in 1982 after buying the club for just £1 and 21 years later sold the club for £140million.
Times Newspapers LtdKen Bates bought Chelsea in 1982 for £1[/caption]
News Group Newspapers LtdHe took the club from the second division to be a top team in the Premier League[/caption]
AFPHe sold the club to Roman Abramovich in 2003 for £140m[/caption]
Bates, 92, bought the club after it had gone bust and was unable to pay players’ wages.
At the time Chelsea were fighting it out in the second division and could only dream of competing at the top of English football.
However, Bates was able to transform the club during his 21-year ownership as he took it to the newly formed Premier League.
The Blues for a time under Bate’s rule were able to become one of the elite sides in the top division through investment in players and coaches.
Bates has since revealed that his backing was due to his “love of the game”.
He had grown up in a council estate in Hanwell, West London, but managed to make his fortune in the ready-mix concrete business.
Bates’ love of football had seen him use his fortune to also have spells in charge of Oldham Athletic and Wigan Athletic before his time at Chelsea.
The Blues only just escaped relegation to the Third Division on the final day of the 1982/83 season but under Bates, they earned promotion the following year.
The club had seen John Neal become manager and players Kerry Nixon and Pat Nevin excel and embark on a new era in which they only spent one season out of the top flight.
During this 19-year period, the Blues picked up two FA Cups the European Cup Winners’ Cup and League Cup.
In Bates’ last seven years as owner, the club failed to finish outside of the top six.
The club also saw world-class talents such as Gianfranco Zola – Bates’ favorite player – Roberto Di Matteo and Gianluca Viallia play for the club.
News Group Newspapers LtdDuring his time at Chelsea, he brought in stars such as Gianluca Vialli[/caption]
Chelsea won two FA cups during Bates’ tenurePA:Press Association
In 2003, the club was then sold to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for £140m, a price that also incorporated the club’s debts.
The important meeting between the two happened at the Dorchester Hotel in London, and Bates admitted that Abramovich made a “higher offer than the market price” and the deal was sorted in “just over an hour”.
This sale reportedly saw Bates make a £17m profit on his investment into the club and he now lives in Monaco.
At the time of the transaction, it was thought that Chelsea was in financial trouble, but Bates has rejected these claims.
He told the Daily Mail: “Contrary to misstatements we weren’t in financial difficulties.
AFPBates now lives in luxury in Monaco[/caption]
“We owed £110million, of which £75million was a 10-year interest-only mortgage. We were a property company and property companies have mortgages.
“But the d**kheads who I’d made enemies of over the seasons said I was struggling. Load of rubbish.”
Bates moved to Monaco after the sale of Chelsea but that is not where his work in football ended.
He became the owner of Leeds in 2005 for two years until it was placed into administration with debts of £35m.
Bates does return to the UK but has joked it is only for short periods “allowed under the tax laws”, as he often has to watch football on the TV with his wife Suzannah, a former sports journalist, who is ghost-writing his autobiography.
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