Marina Granovskaia felt “physically threatened” by an email sent to her by football agent Saif Rubie, a court heard today.
Speaking publicly for the first time since leaving Chelsea in 2022, Granovskaia, previously Chelsea manager, described her fears after receiving an email from Rubie demanding money he believed he was owed for the deal that saw Kurt Zouma leave Stamford Bridge for West Ham.
Testifying in court Tuesday morning, Granovskaia was asked by prosecutors’ attorneys Arizuna Asante how she felt upon receiving the email.
She replied: ‘It would be a very uncomfortable understatement. I felt physically threatened because the language used made it personal because it was referring to the Kia. [Joorabchian] incident.’
Earlier in the day, Asante told the court that Joorabchian was confronted at a restaurant by people representing defendant Rubie and watched as they took Joorabchian’s watch and told him it would not be returned until a payment was made later. .
Marina Granovskaia felt ‘physically threatened’ by an email sent to her by agent Saif Rubie
Football agent Rubie (above) is accused of violating the Malicious Communications Act
Kurt Zouma’s £29.1m move to West Ham from Chelsea in 2021 is at center of trial
It was added that approximately twelve men showed up at Joorabchian’s office and began to intimidate him and demand money, saying that the accused wanted their money.
The email allegedly sent to Granovskaia from Rubie read: “At the end of a unique season for you and Chelsea comes to an end, I am writing to you to address the outstanding issues we have had between us for the last 2 years.”
‘I will try to keep this email as short as possible and to the point.
‘I was with Pini [Zahavi] (an agent) in Dubai recently and told me that you had agreed to pay me (and my two partners in that deal) GPB300,000 for presenting you West Ham’s offer for Kurt Zouma.
‘However, Pini told me that you said you would pay me that money from other businesses in the future, implying that [Antonio] Rudiger. As you know clearly from the moment I offered you the opportunity to extend Antonio’s contract for one more year at the same salary and you refused and started playing.
‘You went to Sahr [Senesie] (an agent) and started making up lies about me and HMRC about why they didn’t want to deal with me. That alone was defamatory and cost me a lot of business and trust because of your lies.
‘The truth is that from that moment on I should not have dealt with you again, but I am a gentleman and I thought you would be right and because of my close personal relationships with Sahr and his brother and my family and the big businesses I do with them . away from football I wasn’t going to make an issue of your slander towards me even though you did everything you could to get me out of the business that I work very hard for and I have never done anything wrong with you over the years but it seems that way You’ve done it. a problem with me.
Rubie is alleged to have demanded payment for his role in Zouma’s transfer to the Hammers.
Granovskaia, a key figure in the Roman Abramovich era who left her position at Chelsea in 2022, felt “physically threatened and very uncomfortable” by the email.
The threatening email also included a reference to Antonio Rudiger leaving Chelsea in 2022.
“So the way you have been with me was finally confirmed when I was in Abu Dhabi for the Club World Cup when I went to visit Antonio and he told me that you had approached him asking him why he was friendly to me and happy to deal with me.” . with me.
‘Who do you think you’re going to talk to the players like that and talk nonsense about me? What have I done to you to make you so bitter and terrible to me? So, I will give you a chance to make things right if you apologize for your behavior towards me.
‘If you don’t, I promise you that I will make you pay for the way you have been to me on a personal and business level. This is not a threat, so take it as you will.
‘This is a promise I make to anyone who tries to screw me over anything in life. I’m pretty sure you would never go up to Lukaku and tell him why he is with you. [Federico] Pastorello your special friend.
‘In short, you owe me and my partners 300,000 which must be paid as soon as possible. If Chelsea does not pay it, the debt will fall on you. I’m done trying to be nice to you.
And feel free to go to your boss, who has had recent problems, and tell him that you have a big problem with me, as long as you tell him the truth about your behavior. Because in life you can’t make mistakes and be strong.
Prosecutors also referred to an incident in which football agent Kia Joorabchian (left) was confronted in a restaurant by people acting on behalf of defendant Rubie, claiming he owed them money.
Zouma spent seven years at Chelsea, making 151 appearances in all competitions for the Blues.
‘I look forward to hearing from you regarding the above matters and hope to have a quick solution. Otherwise, I guess I’ll see it when I see it.
‘I’m sure you’ve heard your other friend Kia’s story about how he owed me money for a year and how he ended up paying it off. I wouldn’t want you to be in the same situation just because you have a personal problem with me.
Rubie is accused of violating the Malicious Communications Act by sending a threatening email to Granovskaia. Rubie denies the accusation.
The trial continues.