Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich reportedly puts club up for sale | OneFootball

Roman Abramovich has reportedly put Chelsea on the market.

The Russian billionaire wants €2.2bn – more than any football club has ever been sold for – to sell the Blues, report the Sunday Times. Abramovich recently failed in an attempt to extend his visa to work and live in the UK on a permanent basis.

According to the report, Abramovich has hired US investment bank Raine Group, who helped Manchester City sell 13% of the club to Chinese investors three years ago.

Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s richest man, has shown an interest in buying Chelsea and is said to have had a bid of over €2bn rejected by Abramovich this summer as the Russian is reportedly looking for an even higher amount.

It was revealed this week the cousin of Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour recently failed in an attempt to buy Liverpool for around €2.2bn.

Recent seasons have seen Chelsea’s transfer spending curbed, with Abramovich less willing to put his own money into the club and preferring the Blues to adopt a self-sustainable model. On top of that, plans to rebuild the club’s Stamford Bridge stadium have been put on hold due to the “current unfavourable investment climate”. Chelsea would reportedly need to raise €1bn to work on Stamford Bridge.

The London Evening Standard have moved to deny the Sunday Times report, instead suggesting Abramovich could work with the Raine Group to find an investor – not someone to buy the club from him – as City did in 2015.