Chelsea Sale Put On Hold After Abramovich Has Assets Frozen
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has had his assets frozen by the UK government.
This means Abramovich's intention of putting Chelsea up for sale has been put on hold.
The sanctions imposed on Abramovich will affect Chelsea in a number of ways, although the club have been granted a special license to continue operations.
Chelsea will not be able to sign new players while these sanctions are still in place and contracts of existing players cannot be renewed.
Abramovich has been linked with Russia president Vladimir Putin, who is behind his country's unlawful invasion of Ukraine.
A statement from the UK government said: "Given the significant impact that today's sanctions would have on Chelsea Football Club and the potential knock-on effects of this, the government has this morning published a licence which authorises a number of football-related activities to continue at Chelsea.
"This includes permissions for the club to continue playing matches and other football-related activity which will in turn protect the Premier League, the wider football pyramid, loyal fans and other clubs.
"This licence will only allow certain explicitly named actions to ensure the designated individual is not able to circumvent UK sanctions.
"The licence will be kept under constant review and we will work closely with the football authorities."
Abramovich took over Chelsea in the summer of 2003 and has injected over £1bn into the club, winning every major club honour available in that time including five Premier League titles, two UEFA Champions League and two Europa Leagues.
