Follow Us on Google
Anyone interested in buying Chelsea Football Club can make a proposal to the government, Britain said on Friday, after ministers sanctioned owner Roman Abramovich and halted his planned sale of the Premier League side.
The British government, which has been under pressure to ramp up sanctions on Russian oligarchs after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last month, imposed a travel ban and froze Abramovich’s assets on Thursday.
The announcement brought to a halt his recently announced plans to sell the London club, which he had expected to fetch more than three billion pounds ($3.9 billion).
The club is now effectively controlled by the government and permitted to operate under strict conditions which prevent transfer deals and new ticket sales and even forced the club merchandise store to close.
“As the licence conditions are written today, the sale would not be allowed,” Britain’s technology minister Chris Philp told Sky News.
“However, if a buyer emerged it would be open to that buyer or to that football club to approach the government and ask for the conditions to be varied in a way that allows that sale to take place.”
British property developer Nick Candy remains interested in making a bid, a spokesperson said in a statement, and was examining the details of Thursday’s sanctions announcement.
