Chelsea ownership is set to be transferred to a Swiss businessman

Swiss business magnate Hansorg Weiss told Swiss newspaper Blick that he is considering buying English Premier League club Chelsea from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

"Abramovic is currently trying to sell all the properties he owns in England and also wants to quickly get rid of Chelsea FC," the newspaper quoted Weiss as saying in an interview published today. "I and three others received an offer on Tuesday to buy Chelsea from Abramovich."

Weiss said he would have to wait four or five days to see how things turned out.

"Abramovic is asking a lot at the moment. As you know, Chelsea owes him two billion pounds. But Chelsea don't have the money. This means that anyone who wants to buy Chelsea should replace Abramovich."

The exact selling price is still unclear, Weiss said.

"I am considering making an offer with partners to buy Chelsea but first I have to check the general terms carefully. What I can actually say, though, is that I certainly wouldn't do something like this on my own. If I bought Chelsea, it would be with a consortium of six or seven investors."

On Saturday, Chelsea owner Abramovich gave the Chelsea Foundation's board of trustees the responsibility to run the club, following calls for sanctions to be imposed on him following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The British government has since imposed sanctions on several Russian individuals and entities, and some British opposition lawmakers have said Abramovich should be included in that list.

One of them demanded that the British government confiscate his assets and deprive him of ownership of the club.

And the move to transfer the day-to-day management of the club to the foundation's board of trustees, which includes the American Bruce Buck, the club's president, did not change Abramovich's position as owner of Chelsea.

Abramovich bought the West London club in 2003 and the investment made by Chelsea has helped Chelsea achieve the most successful period in its history, winning five Premier League titles, five FA Cup titles and the Champions League twice.

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