 Juan Sebastián Verón had been signed for Lazio by another friend of Zahavi's, Sven-Göran Eriksson, whom he knew first as a young coach at Benfica.In 2003, Zahavi played an important and central role in Roman Abramovich's acquisition of Chelsea and in the influx of players that followed.Zahavi became an influential member of Abramovich's inner circle and was estimated to have earned as much as £5 million from the £111 million that Chelsea spent on players that summer.