The sale of Premier League side Chelsea is reportedly set to resume after the UK government has given the ‘green light,’ despite sanctioning Roman Abramovich earlier this week.
Abramovich, 55, had announced his plans to sell the Blues after calls for the Chelsea owner to be sanctioned over his alleged links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The billionaire Russian oligarch has denied ties to Putin amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighbouring country Ukraine.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that seven Russian oligarchs, including Abramovich, had their assets frozen as part of the UK’s response to Putin’s war.
As part of the sanctions announced against Abramovich on Thursday, Chelsea received a ‘special licence’ to allow the club to continue operating under certain requirements.
The Athletic now reports that talks have been held between the UK government and Raine, which is managing the sale of the Premier League club.
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According to the publication, Raine and the UK government will ‘resume’ the process of selling the club as they planned to do before the sanctioning of Abramovich.
It has been suggested that there is ‘confidence’ that a deal for Chelsea’s sale can be achieved ‘within the next four to six weeks.’
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The Athletic added that ‘several credible interested parties’ are eyeing up Chelsea, but no formal bids have been launched at the time of writing.
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Raine is aiming to secure a second licence for Chelsea if a ‘preferred bidder’ is found, which would allow it to push through the sale of the club.
It is believed that the UK government will only allow the sale of Chelsea if Abramovich can prove that he ‘will not personally benefit from the transaction.’
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Under the current measures in place on Chelsea, the club can allow season ticket holders and existing ticket holders to attend matches and cover costs for staff.
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However, the licence aims to cut off any revenue that Abramovich can receive from Chelsea, meaning the club cannot sell any further tickets or merchandise and will be limited on travelling costs to and from matches.
Topics: Roman Abramovich, Chelsea, Premier League, England, Football
Adnan Riaz