Even in his finest hour as Chelsea’s owner, when others were being swept along on a tidal wave of euphoria, Roman Abramovich was not convinced. Yes, Roberto Di Matteo had done the unimaginable over an extraordinary 12-week stint as interim manager, winning the FA Cup and then the Champions League, but even as the champagne flowed at the victory party in Munich, the Italian correctly sensed that Abramovich was planning to jilt him.

Abramovich’s plan in that summer of 2012 — his obsession — was to appoint Pep Guardiola, who had just left Barcelona. Guardiola, exhausted, was desperate to take a year off but still Abramovich’s overtures persisted even after Di Matteo led Chelsea to Champions League glory. The answer that kept coming back was