Chelsea ‘at risk of going BUST’ as Roman Abramovich deadline to save the club emerges

Roman Abramovich added to the UK's sanctions list

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Chelsea are at the risk of going bust if they do not sell the club before their licence expires, according to reports. Chelsea were rocked by the news on Thursday that owner Roman Abramovich had been sanctioned by the UK Government. Abramovich has had his assets in the UK frozen due to his reported links with Russia president Vladimir Putin.

Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale last week and there have been several billionaires showing serious interest in buying the west London club.

However, the sanctions have put an abrupt halt to any sale.

Chelsea are unable to sell any match tickets or official merchandise, and cannot offer new contracts to current players.

They are effectively under a transfer embargo, though the window does not open until the summer.

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Despite the sanctions, Chelsea have been granted a licence by the Government to continue a number of football-related activities.

Chelsea will still be permitted to play matches, and pay their staff and players.

But the licence expires on May 31 and the future for the club after that is in serious doubt.

The Sun claims the licence will not be renewed unless Abramovich agrees a sale of the club without receiving a single penny in the transaction.

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Chelsea have been told the sale must go through before May 31 to ensure the club survives.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman confirmed the rules that must be followed for Chelsea to be sold.

He said: “A specific licence can be granted to allow any sale to proceed.

“But under no circumstance would any sale allow Roman Abramovich to profit from that or take any money from that sale.”

Chelsea have a huge wage bill to pay of around £28million a month despite no income for the foreseeable future.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire says a question remains over whether the Blues will be able to afford to keep paying all of their staff during the hugely uncertain time.

Maguire told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Chelsea have already received the vast amount of money they would expect to generate through the course of a season.

“Season-ticket holders have paid their money in advance, as have the sponsors, as have the kit manufacturers. Also most of the broadcast money has already been transferred across.

“Under the terms of the government licence, that money is not being prevented from going to Chelsea. Those are the positives.

“The challenges are that Chelsea’s wage bill is around about £28m a month. We don’t know how much money there is in Chelsea’s bank account.

“Historically, Roman Abramovich has always underwritten those months where Chelsea have been unable to afford the wage bill themselves. That is a significant unknown.”

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