Who could be in the market to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich?

Roman Abramovich announced on Wednesday evening that he intends to sell Chelsea after 19 trophy-laden years at Stamford Bridge.

The Russian-Israeli billionaire could come under UK government sanctions amid Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine, with Abramovich stating all net proceeds from any potential deal would go into a new charity foundation for Ukraine.

It now remains to be seen who will emerge to buy the Champions League holders and here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the runners and riders potentially in contention to buy the Blues.

Javed Afridi

A Pakistani businessman, Afridi has already dipped his toe into the world of sport as he is the owner of Peshawar Zalmi, a cricket franchise in the the Pakistan Super League.Afridi has also sponsored several cricket tournaments in Pakistan through a number of his business ventures.The 36-year-old owns home electronics company Haier Pakistan as well as MG Motors Pakistan.

Al-Waleed bin Talal

The 66-year-old Saudi Arabian billionaire is the founder and majority owner of the Kingdom Holding Company.He also holds shares in Citigroup and 21st Century Fox, while his holding company invests in tourism, entertainment, retail and real estate – among other interests – but as yet he has not been involved with a sports team.

Todd Boehly

Boelhy has already launched an unsuccessful bid to purchase Chelsea, offering a reported 3billion US dollars to Abramovich in 2019 – an offer that was rejected.The American businessman, who also studied at the London School of Economics, is part-owner of baseball team the Los Angeles Dodgers as well as the women’s basketball outfit the Los Angeles Sparks and owns a stake in the Los Angeles Lakers.Boelhy also has financial interests in