Breaking: Roman Abramovich puts Chelsea up for sale and wants £3b

• Chelsea believe a sale to a US tycoon is their best route, despite a Swiss billionaire claiming that he has been approached to buy Chelsea FC 
• Hansjorg Wyss, worth £4.3bn, says he could form part of a £2bn consortium 
• Roman Abramovich is looking for a quick sale of the club he bought in 2003
• Abramovich is braced for UK sanctions amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 
• Russian is looking to pass stewardship of the club to its foundation trustees 

Chelsea believes a sale to a US tycoon is their best route, despite Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss claiming he has been offered the chance to join a £2bn consortium with ‘six or seven’ other investors to buy the club. 

Russian oligarch Abramovich, who bought the club in 2003, has previously turned down offers worth £2.2bn for Chelsea, while the club’s debt to him is £1.51bn.  

It is believed a US merchant bank has been put in charge of selling the club, with parties encouraged to make their bids by the end of the week. 

Wyss, an 86-year-old medical magnate worth a reported £4.3bn, has admitted interest in purchasing the Stamford Bridge club from Abramovich, but only in a consortium.

Russian-Israeli billionaire Abramovich had publicly expressed his desire to retain ownership of Chelsea, but that could prove close to impossible should the UK Government impose sanctions on the 55-year-old. 

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.

Daily Mail

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