Last days of Roman: the week that changed everything at Chelsea

There was no sense that everything was about to unravel so dramatically when the statement from Roman Abramovich dropped at 6.45pm last Saturday, less than 24 hours before Chelsea were due to face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.

“Nothing changes,” one source said as the night wore on and everyone tried to make sense of Abramovich’s plans to transfer the care and stewardship of Chelsea to the trustees of the club’s charitable foundation. “It’s the same Chelsea.”

Was it business as usual? A day earlier Thomas Tuchel had admitted he and his players were worried about the uncertainty surrounding Abramovich after a call in parliament for sanctions to be imposed on the oligarch after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The real world had intruded and Abramovich, who bought Chelsea in 2003, was faced with major complications as he contemplated how to preserve his ownership.

Yet there was still no outward hint of panic. Journalists were told that the Russian is a non-political person and, rather than trying to save himself from sanctions, was acting to protect the club from reputational damage caused by the focus on him. The 55-year-old was still the owner, the overall leadership structure remained in place and Chelsea were still insisting they were not for sale.

It was inevitable that Chelsea’s position could not hold. The calls for sanctions increased and Abramovich released another statement on Wednesday, confirming that Chelsea were up for sale 69 minutes before Tuchel’s side were due to begin their FA Cup tie against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road.

Bidders were invited to approach Abramovich, who vehemently denies allegations suggesting he is linked to Vladimir Putin and the Russian state or has done anything to merit being