Chelsea are facing potentially the most precarious moment in their modern history, following Roman Abramovich being sanctioned by the UK government.
The measures ban the Russian billionaire owner of the European champions from being able to profit from anything that the Blues do, including selling tickets to games, selling players and even running the club shop.
Essentially, the Blues are now in limbo. The club itself cannot be sold, leading to fans on social media speculating that Chelsea could let contracts run down or even face administration as a result.
"To ensure the club can continue to compete and operate we are issuing a special licence that will allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches while, crucially, depriving Abramovich of benefiting from his ownership of the club," Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries posted on Twitter.
"I know this brings some uncertainty, but the government will work with the league and clubs to keep football being played while ensuring sanctions hit those intended. Football clubs are cultural assets and the bedrock of our communities. We're committed to protecting them."
According to the BBC, however, "the government is open to considering a further addition to the special licence which will allow the sale of the club."
This addition to Chelsea's license would allow the Blues to be sold, on the condition that Abramovich receives no money for the club. Given that the billionaire previously claimed that he would donate the money from the sale of the club to victims of the Ukraine invasion of Russia, these new sanctions may not actually affect the Blues' sale.
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