Premier League chief welcomes Chelsea sale as fans thank Roman Abramovich

London — Premier League chief executive Richard Masters welcomed Roman Abramovich's decision to put Chelsea up for sale on Thursday as fans thanked the Russian for the club's "unparalleled success" under his ownership.

The billionaire has not been named on a growing British sanctions list targeting Russian banks, businesses and pro-Kremlin tycoons following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

But the 55-year-old's concern about potential seizure of assets is understood to have sparked his move to off-load the Blues, a decision announced on Wednesday.

Abramovich has pledged to donate the "net proceeds" from the sale of the club to victims of the war.

Speaking at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit, Masters said: "I think the situation has escalated incredibly quickly over the last seven days and he's come to the right conclusion.

"It's unsustainable in the current environment. It's a welcome decision and obviously, for the sake of everybody, including the fans, as soon as the sale process concludes everyone has certainty."

Asked what would happen to the sale if Abramovich were sanctioned by the UK government, Masters told the audience in London: "I don't think that will work."

"I think the quickest (sale) we have ever done is 10 days, that's not to say that record can't be beaten but normally it takes a number of weeks," he said.

"It all depends on the complexity of the deal and the number of potential owners. Provided the information is easily digestible, easily understandable and gives us all the right answers it can be done relatively quickly."

Since Putin's brutal offensive began last week, Western companies have cut ties with Russian businesses and Masters said the Premier League was looking into the