Turkish 'Billionaire' Muhsin Bayrak Claims He Was Close To Buying Chelsea Before Sanctions

Turkish 'billionaire' Muhsin Bayrak claims he was close to buying Chelsea before Roman Abramovich was sanctioned.

Abramovich announced his intention to sell the club last week following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Bayrak emerged as a frontrunner to buy Chelsea, but Thursday morning saw Abramovich sanctioned by the UK government which will complicate a sale.

Chelsea can still be sold, but the money generated from a sale cannot benefit the 55-year-old in any way.

Bayrak has since claimed he was close to sealing a deal and there was an official announcement in the works for next week.

"We're in a bad mood. The British government seized it. We were just about to finish the job, applications were made yesterday," Bayrak explained per Gercek Gundem.

"A press conference was going to be held today, and the handover was going to be next week. I'm incredibly depressed."

Bayrak is chairman of AB Group Holding, a construction and investment company that's been in business since 1999.

Little else is known about Bayrak but his fortune is estimated to be in the region of £8 billion.

Abramovich was initially looking for £3 billion when the sale of Chelsea was completely in his hands.

Chelsea are set to face Norwich City in the Premier League this evening and they've confirmed the game will be going ahead.

One notable change, however, involves shirt sponsor Three.

The mobile phone firm suspended their partnership of the club hours after the sanctions were laid out.

Three will be removing their logo from Chelsea's shirts and from Stamford Bridge.

Abramovich purchased Chelsea in 2003 and under his ownership, they've become a dominant force in English football.

They've won 19 trophies in 19 years and recently won the Champions League and Club World Cup.

Chelsea released a statement and said they were exploring a way to have their general licence renewed.

The club can fulfil their fixtures and pay their staff, but are unable to sell any merchandise.

They're also unable to renew player contracts in this period.