Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov an example to Roman Abramovich

Roman Abramovich is in the news again for the manner in which he acquired his wealth. As morally dubious as it is, it is all the more galling because the rest of the ownership in the Premier League is faultless. It is in fact such a ray of sunshine, that Abramovich’s presence is a high-contrast black mark against the whole league.

The other 19 owners are such reasonable people, that it shames the Chelsea owner. However, all is not lost for Chelsea and Abramovich. Below are the three most pleasant and positive owners in the Premier League who, we can hope, act as a shining example as a reason and template to change his ways.

Alisher Usmanov, ARsenal

Alisher Usmanov is a noted philanthropist and altruist, and it is not just with Arsenal that he has taken the world forward, and increased the amount of joy in the world. Let’s start with Arsenal, though.

As Arsenal have regularly achieved a consistent top-four finish in the Premier League, we can all see that Usamov is one of the key figures in treating the borough of Islington to some superb entertainment. This borough has some of the highest levels of deprivation in London, and so it is wonderful that Arsenal contribute such a gift to the community with their team. Of course, such quality comes at a cost, and their hugely expensive season tickets might have priced out some fans, but we all live in the real world. Compromises have to be made somewhere.

Usamov, as someone with many interests in Russia, continues to play a prominent role there, and his contributions to Russian society are varied and positive. He supports free speech, but understands that Putin is the key to giving the Russian people exactly what he needs. Again, compromises must be made. That’s why then the editor of Kommersant Vlast ran an issue featuring an anti-Putin jibe about ballot rigging, he knew he had to remove him from his position. He is all about pragmatic, positive change.
Similarly, his work as the head of Gazprom Invest Company, helping to return the company to state control, and serve the needs of Putin. Gazprom is now able to sponsor the Champions League, so it clearly not just through Arsenal that Usmanov is giving back to the world of football.
We should take one last moment, though, to give thanks that we even have Usmanov in our lives. Having been imprisoned on fraud charges in the 1980s, and was only pardoned due to the intervention of human rights champions, and Uzbek President, Islam Karimov.
The Glazers, Manchester United
If Communism was the cause of many millions of deaths, then capitalism has delivered us all into a new world of shiny entrepreneurism, freedom and security. And who better to demonstrate the positive effects of capitalism at its extremes and most efficient than the Glazer family.
Some people see leveraged buyouts, and they see from the ruthless savings made to service high interest bonds an inevitable fallout of cuts to service quality, and efficiencies - which are called redundancies by normal people. They then see that the private equity that borrows money and loads that debt onto the club in order to protect themselves from any serious consequences, and wonder if this is not just a method to concentrate wealth ever higher up the food chain. They see that the ways to service this debt often see a drastic fall in the tax that is paid to the state to support things like schools, hospitals, welfare and education. And they think that is a bad thing.
How wrong they are. In fact, what the Glazers have shown, also as at Arsenal, by raising ticket prices until half the spectators are made up of day-tripping tourists, is that a football season ticket, or just one ticket to a game, can be used as an inspiration and aspirational motivational tool for those who can no longer go to games.

What they are saying to United fans is that they, in turn, should look to their own leveraged buyouts. They should borrow money, invest in a business, make it efficient, that then use the cashflow created to buy their season tickets. A perfect society would be lots of self-employed people, skimming off the top of business to the detriment of the tax take in Britain, all in a celebration of capitalism and football. Truly, they are a gift.

City Football Group, Manchester City

The owners of Manchester City are, perhaps, the kindest of all of the owners in the top four. With their almost direct links back to the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, and the political elites of the United Emirates, it is clear that they are some of the most progressive people about.

Now, there are some mild criticisms to be made of Abu Dhabi, but they must be mentioned in order to further praise the owners. It’s unfortunately not possible to enter the country if you have an Israeli passport. Similarly, the country operates the death penalty, and is known for its human rights abuses.

That’s why we should absolutely welcome their investment into Premier League. With its effective anti-racism messages, the constant protests against sexism in the game, and its anti-homophobia outlook, this is the perfect chance to learn liberal values. Similarly, the FA’s strong and transparent stand against UEFA and FIFA is another way for City’s owners to learn lessons and improve their own country. Such a forceful statement cannot be overstated, and makes them the very finest owners in the Premier League. Certainly someone for Abramovich to learn from.