Agent cleared of threatening Marina Granovskaia sues her and Chelsea

The agent cleared of sending former Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia a threatening email has launched a multi-million-pound lawsuit against her and the club.

It can be revealed that Saif Alrubie has filed a claim with the London Circuit Commercial Court more than four months after being found not guilty at Southwark Crown Court of malicious communications.

In a statement to Telegraph Sport, he said Chelsea’s new owners, chiefly US investors Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly, should “right this wrong” over fees he claims are owed to him over the sale of defender Kurt Zouma to West Ham United.

Alrubie said: “The last two and a half years have been incredibly difficult. As a fan of Chelsea FC, and having had a productive business relationship with the club over a number of years, I am saddened that I have been forced to take this step.

“It’s my sincere hope that we will be able to reach a resolution to this issue that is long overdue. I am hopeful that Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, and Chelsea FC will take the action necessary to right this wrong and close this chapter so that all parties can move on.”

There was no sign of that happening on Friday, with Telegraph Sport told the club plan to fight a lawsuit they deem to be frivolous.

Alrubie indicated after his acquittal that he was owed “10 times” the £300,000 commission he had demanded from Granovskaia over the Zouma transfer, which his attempts to recoup landed him in court.

The jury heard at April’s trial that Alrubie worked on the understanding that, as an intermediary on the deal, he would receive a commission on any fee received of more than €30 million.

He later told talkSPORT: “The £300,000 was actually an amount that I was willing to accept when I didn’t know all of the facts and the truth of the transfer fee was hidden away from me.

“The judge in the trial established all of the facts, thank God. The law of the land is above any law and I’m just glad that that has vindicated everything that I’ve had to go through and the facts were black and white.”

Pressed on whether he would be pursuing millions of pounds, he replied: “Like I said, my lawyers will be dealing with that plus the interest, plus the rest.”

Alrubie had broken down in tears after being found not guilty and embraced family members and associates.

Granovskaia, meanwhile, issued a statement in which read: “Coming to court to give evidence in the Crown’s case against Mr Alrubie was an extremely difficult decision. I am an intensely private person, but I was willing to do my part to ensure that no one else – particularly no woman – was ever made to feel as I did upon receiving his email, a feeling this trial has revived.

“I was also minded to testify as I received messages of support from colleagues and associates in football following news of Mr Alrubie’s arrest, including some who have had dealings with him over the years.”

Alrubie’s email was sent in May 2022, just before Granovskaia was put on gardening leave by Chelsea following the takeover of the club. He was arrested at Heathrow upon his arrival on a flight from Brussels in Sept 2022.

Granovskaia’s statement added: “There are things I miss about football: my colleagues and counterparts, including some wonderful and decent agents; the players; the spirit of Chelsea; and, of course, winning trophies. One thing I do not miss is the difficult and ugly side of football. I will not be making any further comment.”

The email sent by Alrubie, dated May 22, 2022, was in relation to Zouma’s move from Chelsea to West Ham in August 2021 for £29.1 million, £4.1 million of which went to the defender as a severance payment, and Alrubie’s claim that he and his associates were owed £300,000 in commission.

In the email, Alrubie said: “I’m sure you’ve heard the story about your other friend Kia [Joorabchian] when he owed me money for a year and how he ended up paying it. Wouldn’t want you to be in the same situation just because you have a personal issue with me.”

Chelsea and a representative for Granovskaia declined to comment.