Roman
Abramovich has been disqualified as a director of Chelsea by the Premier
League board, but the club's licence now allows prize money income and more
expenditure for home games.
Should Man Utd approach Thomas Tuchel, and who is the former Liverpool
'saviour' attempting to save the club?
We run through the latest updates regarding the sale of Chelsea.
Abramovich disqualified from PL board but
licence improved
Roman Abramovich has been disqualified as a director of Chelsea by the
Premier League board but the sale of the club is expected to progress with
Government oversight.
The sanctioning of Blues owner Abramovich by the UK Government on Thursday
saw the Russian-Israeli billionaire's UK assets frozen, including Chelsea,
which stalled proceedings.
Chelsea have been handed a new licence to continue operations, however, and
the European champions are still locked in negotiations with the Government
to ease restrictions.
Chelsea are now allowed to spend up to £900,000 on match-day costs, up from
£500,000, following talks between club officials and the Government.
Travel costs for away games remain at £20,000 but the club can receive prize
money this season from the competitions they are competing in, with further
changes expected in the coming days.
The Government reiterated they are open to issuing a further licence to
allow a sale of Chelsea to proceed.
A Government spokesperson said: "The Government is open to a sale of the
club and would consider an application for a licence to allow that to
happen.
"We are absolutely clear that any such licence would not allow Roman
Abramovich to benefit from the sale."
New York merchant bank the Raine Group has now assessed the terms of the
licence and agreed a route forward for the sale with the Government, the PA
news agency understands.
The Premier League board's decision to disqualify Abramovich is unlikely to
have any real impact given the sale process was already under way. It does
not affect Chelsea's ability to play matches.
Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale on March 2, pledging to write off the
Blues' £1.5billion debt and to divert all proceeds to a new foundation to
benefit victims of the war in Ukraine.
The 55-year-old moved to sell Chelsea after 19 years at the Stamford Bridge
helm, amid Russia's continued war in Ukraine.
The Government sanctioned Abramovich after claiming to have proved his
direct links to Vladimir Putin's Russian regime, although Chelsea's owner
has always denied any association.
The Raine Group's progression of the sale means Chelsea's suitors can again
push forward with their bids to take control of the European and world
champions of the club game.
Abramovich was understood to have been ready to work with Government
oversight on the sale and, now the Raine Group has completed suitable
checks, the interested parties can press on.
'Worried' Merson: Man Utd should tap up
world class Tuchel now
Paul Merson on Soccer Saturday:
If I was Man Utd, I would be all over the manager Thomas Tuchel. He's top
drawer, I don't care what anybody says. He's world class, and I would be
tapping him up straight away.
Whoever buys this club will have to love Chelsea Football Club like
Abramovich did. If they don't, it's just going to fizzle away.
Chelsea's biggest hope is that it's a Chelsea fan buying it. I don't see
anyone else coming into the club again and spending that kind of money.
I worry for Chelsea now. It was in a song: "When you've seen such riches,
you can't live with being poor."
I don't where the money is going to come from: I don't see anyone spending
the money Abramovich has been spending.
In terms of players and raising funds, someone could come in and buy the
club and sell five or six players straight away for £400-500m! I hope that
doesn't happen. Now, as a Chelsea fan, you don't know what you're going to
get, it's like a bag of Revels.
Someone could come in and be like the Glazers at Man Utd, or someone could
come in like at Newcastle and flood it with money.
Liverpool 'saviour' Broughton eyes key
role in Chelsea rescue bid
Sky News' City Editor Mark Kleinman
Sir Martin Broughton, the British businessman who rescued Liverpool from a
bitter boardroom battle a decade ago, is in talks to spearhead a rescue bid
for the club.
Sky News has learnt that Sir Martin, a lifelong Chelsea fan, has held
discussions in recent days about playing a role in bids being prepared by
Todd Boehly, the LA Dodgers baseball team's part-owner, and Josh Harris, a
backer of the Philadelphia 76ers basketball side.
The former British Airways chairman is also negotiating with potential
financial backers about tabling his own bid, as a field of international
suitors circles Chelsea ahead of a deadline for offers next week.
Jonathan Goldstein, a London-based investor who owns the Prezzo chain of
restaurants, is part of Mr Boehly's consortium.
Mr Goldstein runs Cain International, a property and development group that
could be instrumental in revamping Chelsea's Stamford Bridge home or the
construction of a new stadium.
British property tycoon Nick Candy has also confirmed his strong interest in
buying the Blues and is in the process of building a consortium.
Chelsea saw several credit cards temporarily frozen on Friday amid a
frenzied day of negotiations with the Government over the terms of their new
operating licence.
Downing Street chiefs are ready to amend the terms of the licence so Chelsea
can operate as normally as possible while ensuring Abramovich does not
profit.
But Chelsea argue that Abramovich did not profit from regular operations
anyway, so are hopeful of a swift restoration of a number of currently
restricted concerns.
Chelsea cannot sell any new tickets, leaving fans who have not got season
tickets or pre-purchased tickets unable to attend future matches.
The Blues cannot sell any merchandise, including new match programmes,
meaning vendors will not be able to work their shifts in Sunday's Premier
League clash against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea's players, meanwhile, are determined to show how committed they are
when they play Newcastle United on Sunday despite the uncertainty
surrounding the club.
A source close to the dressing room told Sky Sports News: "Now is the time
to stick together until the storm passes. The club are working hard to
stabilise the situation and minimise the impact of what is happening.
"Now is not the time to be speculating about your future. No one is thinking
about the transfer market at such a difficult time for the club. The squad
is focusing on football and staying strong together."
Tuchel: Hard to focus on football | We are
privileged
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has told Sky Sports it is "hard to focus only on
football" amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine and feels "very privileged" to
be a Premier League coach.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was hit by sanctions from the UK government
on Thursday morning - resulting in the Russian-Israeli billionaire's assets
being frozen, plus "a prohibition on transactions with UK individuals and
businesses, a travel ban and transport sanctions".
The sanctions are intended to stop the 55-year-old from making any money in
the UK, but the government has granted Chelsea a special licence to allow
fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to
attend matches.
However, Chelsea cannot offer new contracts to players or staff, conduct any
transfer business or sell new tickets to matches as things stand.
Tuchel said after Chelsea's 3-1 win over Norwich on Thursday he is "still
happy" to be head coach but admitted he "cannot influence" the situation.
In an interview with Sky Sports' Geoff Shreeves ahead of his side's Super
Sunday clash with Newcastle, the German was asked what he has had time to
reflect on in challenging circumstances.
"Maybe it has never been more true to live in the moment because everything
else seems very, very difficult," he said.
"To understand the situation feels very difficult, to see where it is going
is maybe impossible. So in the end we stick to the mantra to live in the
moment and worship where we are.
"It is not easy, but it is out of our control. Sometimes it makes things
more difficult, but sometimes more easy to accept we cannot do anything in
the moment, to wait and to constantly adapt."
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