Marina Granovskaia has gradually established herself as the most powerful woman in modern days football since she became the director at Chelsea football club in 2013 and then promoted to chief executive in 2014.
The 45-year-old Russian-Canadian football administrator is not only stunning looking but she is talented in making unbelievable moves for the Premier League club owned by her countryman Roman Abramovich.
For the first time in the history of Chelsea, they were able to get a director in Marina Granovskaia who is not there just to spend the club’s money but to make wonderful revenue-generating deals and help Chelsea to make some lucrative sales.
Recall that prior to the 2019-2020 season, Chelsea was not able to sign any new player due to the transfer ban UEFA slammed on them for breaching UEFA financial fair play rules. Amid such a circumstance, Marina Granovskaia oversaw the sell of Chelsea’s best player Eden Hazard to Real Madrid for a transfer fee reportedly worth €160 million. She also supervised the sales of Alvaro Morata to Atletico Madrid for about €65 million.
Despite the fact that Chelsea didn’t have to spend any dime in the transfer market then, Marina Granovskaia was able to ensure that the club made €225 million in the sales of just two players. She was able to identify the right football manager that can manage the situation of the team by supervising the appointment of the club’s legend Frank Lampard.
With the coming in of Lampard, the club was able to make do of mostly the club’s academy graduates to execute the 2019-2020 season. Though they failed to win any major title, they were able to finish 4th on the league table which qualifies them for the 2020-2021 UEFA Champions League. They were also able to make it to the FA Cup final which they lost to Arsenal.
Marina Granovskaia and her deals for Chelsea
Marina Granovskaia has been working for the owner of the Chelsea football club since 1997 after she graduated from the Foreign Languages Faculty of Moscow State University.
Roman Abramovich moved her from one of his companies, Millhouse Capital, to Chelsea a few years after the Russian billionaire bought Chelsea in 2003. In 2013, Marina Granovskaia joined the board of the club after serving as Roman Abramovich’s representative from 2010.
One of the biggest deals she broker for Chelsea was the famous sponsorship deal with Nike. Based on the terms of the deal which will last until 2032, the American sportswear making company will fund the club with £60 million throughout the duration of the deal.
Marina Granovskaia who has always been involved with contractual dealings for Chelsea, became more famous this summer when she led Chelsea to have the best transfer window in the club’s history.
In less than two months, she supervised the signing of four world-class players- Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, and Kai Havertz for £191 million in total. She also supervised the addition of three world-class players Thiago Silva, Xavier Mbuyamba, and Malang Sarr for free.
Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, and Kai Havertz alone provided a total number of 60 goals for their separate clubs in the 2019-2020 season. The trio also provided a total number of 42 assists in the just-concluded season. Hence, this trio could become the deadliest attack in the forthcoming season all thanks to the ingenuity of Marina Granovskaia.
