Abramovich to Buy Hapoel Tel-Aviv

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/11/28/abramovichhapoel.shtml

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea FC, has set his
sights on the Israeli club Hapoel, sports editions reported Monday.

The governor of Russia’s remote Chukotka region, together with Israeli
billionaire Lev Levayev, are signing the deal to buy the Tel-Aviv club this
week, Abramovich’s aide told the Clarin daily in an interview.

Last Thursday Abramovich and Levayev reached a final agreement with
Hapoel’s current owner Sami Sagol, the Hapoel web site reports.

However, UEFA’s current regulations prohibit one person from owning two
football clubs at the same time, so Abramovich is conducting the deal
through a middleman.

The unnamed businessman will head Hapoel’s board of directors, and if UEFA
prohibits this too, Abramovich will appoint a formally independent board of
directors.