Abramovich to sell Chelsea & donate proceeds to victims of war in Ukraine

Roman Abramovich has confirmed he is selling Chelsea Football Club, with all net proceeds from the sale to be donated to victims of the war in Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Labour MP Chris Bryant used Parliamentary Privilege to also reveal Abramovich is selling his UK home and another flat, telling the House of Commons the Russian billionaire is "terrified of being sanctioned".

The Chelsea owner has now publicly admitted he is looking to sell the club, with Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss claiming he has been offered the chance to buy the club.

Abramovich is owed £1.5billion by Chelsea after buying the club in a £140m deal in 2003, but says he will not ask for any of the loans to be repaid.

He says the sale of Chelsea "will not be fast-tracked but will follow due process".

"This has never been about business nor money for me, but about pure passion for the game and club," Abramovich said.

"I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated. The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine. This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery."

Swiss billionaire Wyss claims he has been offered the chance to buy Chelsea, with the 86-year-old admitting interest in purchasing the Stamford Bridge club from Abramovich, but only as part of a consortium.

"Abramovich is trying to sell all his villas in England, he also wants to get rid of Chelsea quickly," Wyss told Swiss newspaper Blick.

"I and three other people received an offer on Tuesday to buy Chelsea from Abramovich. I have to wait four to five days now. Abramovich is currently asking far too much.