Roman Abramovich ready to sell Chelsea

Leading business figures believe Roman Abramovich is ready to sell Chelsea.

Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss has claimed he has been given the chance to buy Chelsea, and is preparing a consortium to submit an offer for the Stamford Bridge club.

An American-based merchant bank is understood to have contacted potential buyers, claiming to represent the Blues in a potential sale.

Chelsea have not responded to Wyss’ claims or suggestions that the west London club could now be sold.

Russian-Israeli billionaire Abramovich is understood to want to retain his ownership of Chelsea.

But that could effectively prove close to impossible should the UK government impose sanctions on the 55-year-old, who has owned the west London club since 2003.

The 86-year-old billionaire Wyss has admitted he will look into the details of any possible deal to buy Chelsea, with the asking price thought to push beyond £2billion.

“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.

“You know, Chelsea owe him £2 billion. But Chelsea has no money.

“As of today, we don’t know the exact selling price.”

Abramovich attempted to step back from the daily running of Chelsea on Saturday, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Blues boss has tried to hand the “stewardship and care” of Chelsea to the club’s charitable foundation trustees.

That led the Charity Commission to contact the Stamford Bridge club for more detail on Abramovich’s plans, after several of the trustees raised concerns over