Chelsea news LIVE: Club withdraw Middlesbrough request after backlash and Roman Abramovich sanctioned by EU

The unthinkable could soon become the inevitable, with Chelsea, Champions League winners and once one of the richest clubs on the planet, facing a very real danger of entering administration following the government’s decision to sanction Roman Abramovich.

That’s the warning from one of the country’s leading sports finance experts, who believes that a lack of capital in the London club’s bank account could see the situation at Stamford Bridge unravel at breakneck speed.

The decision to sanction Abramovich on Thursday has thrown the club’s viability into serious doubt and although the government has said it will do it all can to protect Chelsea, it’s clear that unless the club is sold extremely quickly, the five-time Premier League champions are in the kind of financial peril that was unthinkable with the Russian at the helm.

Sir Martin Broughton is compiling his own bid to buy Chelsea, the PA news agency understands.

The former British Airways chairman and lifelong Chelsea fan was expected be on hand at Stamford Bridge for Sunday’s Premier League clash against Newcastle.

The 74-year-old was due to meet with Chelsea supporters groups representatives after the Blues’ first match under the new Government operating licence.

Broughton spent a short stint as Liverpool chairman in 2010 in order to broker the Reds’ eventual sale to Tom Werner’s Fenway Sports Group.

The business magnate won a court battle to push on Liverpool’s sale to FSG, who have helped drive the Anfield club back to Premier League and European summit.

“I thought we believed until the end and that is our group, it is our mentality.” said Chelsea midfielder, Jorginho, about the team’s last minute victory over Newcaste yesterday.

After a fairly dull game, bereft of any quality in either final third, Kai Havertz met a pass from Jorginho in the box and scored in the 89th minute to put Chelsea in front and ultimately earn them three points.

“That is what we have been showing all the time now, we keep focused, work hard and fight and push until the end. We deserved the win. It was a great result, atmosphere and great for the fans,’ the Italian said.

‘Kai [Havertz] is an amazing player and guy, who can make the difference for us. We believe in him because you can see the quality he has and the potential that is there. He is a key player for this team and can make the difference like we saw.”

Amid the uncertainty around Chelsea - following Roman Abramovich being sanctioned and having his assests frozen - Jorginho says that focusing on what happens on the pitch helps the players to deal with the surrounding noise. He added:

“It is a good challenge to be honest because we’re all human and when there’s so much going around it is not easy. We try to isolate sometimes, we try to focus what we need to do because we are also professional as you could see we know our targets and we know what we’re here for. We’re fighting for that.”

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has admitted the club’s ability to finish the Premier League season in not in their hands amid negotiations with the UK Government over its operating licence.

Chelsea were allowed to continue with “football-related activities” after being handed a special license following the sanctioning of owner Roman Abramovich, leaving the club facing an uncertain future.

Negotiations have been held with the government over amending the licence to allow Chelsea to operate as normally as possible but under the conditions that Abramovich cannot make a profit.

Cech, who is now employed by Chelsea as a technical and performance advisor, admitted that the Premier League side had been left with more questions than answers amid what he described as a “difficult situation”.

The chants grew louder as the Newcastle fans closed in on Stamford Bridge through the throngs of the subdued Chelsea support.

“Chelsea get bankrupt everywhere they go,” they gloated.

The chance to seize on the misfortune of a rival was an open goal the supporters from northeast England were not going to miss.

But beyond the taunting songs, there were few obvious signs around Chelsea’s stadium to signal the unprecedented situation the Premier League club now finds itself in — only permitted to operate under a special British government license after owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Freezing the assets of Abramovich restricts Chelsea’s ability to generate income. So the club shops remained closed as they have been since Thursday when the sanctions against Abramovich were announced. No matchday magazines were allowed to be sold. The only fans allowed into Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Newcastle had to have bought tickets before Thursday.

The US merchant bank, Raine Group, has extended the deadline for official bids to buy Chelsea Football Club to Friday this week.

Potential buyers have been informed that a sale of the club could go through rapidly despite Chelsea still not having permission to sell up as part of the special licence they have been granted to continue football operations.

Due to Roman Abramovich being sanctioned by the UK Government and having his assets frozen, the club is up for sale and it is understood the Government are open to allowing a sale as long as no funds go to the Russian billionaire.

UK property tycoon Nick Candy has confirmed he is trying to buy the club and plans to appoint a fan representative to the board if successful.

The US-Swiss consortium of Todd Boehly and Hansjorg Wyss have already put forward a bid, while a Saudi Media-led consortium are also interested.

The Ricketts family, who own the Chicago Cubs, and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson have also noted their interest in Chelsea.

Abramovich’s initial valuation of £4 billion is reportedly too high with a figure of £2.5bn more likely - Candy is ready to bid as high as this.

Raine Group extended the deadline by three days after the process was halted due to Abramovich’s sanctions.

According to sources at the EU, diplomats asked the Commission - which drafted the economic sanctions - for assurances that the new economic measures on Russian oligarchs cannot be successfully challenged in EU courts.

No concerns were raised about the new listings of oligarchs and businessmen - which are in a separate legal document drafted by the EU external action service - and one diplomat was confident that Abramovich’s sanctioning “will go through”.

Further Russian oligarchs will be added to the EU list after dozens have already been sanctioned.

The new sanctions will hit people active in the Russian steel industry and others who provide financial services, military products and technology to the Russian state.

Abramovich holds a Portuguese passport, which means that Portugal could in principle refrain from imposing on him the asset freeze and travel ban decided at EU level which is aleady in place on Chelsea’s owner in Britain.

The European Union has decided to add Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich to the EU list of Russian billionaires sanctioned after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The informal greenlight to Abramovich’s listing came in a meeting on Sunday, according to one source, with EU envoys set to reconvene on Monday to adopt the measure and a further set of economic sanctions against Russia.

Sanctions will be effective only after publication on the EU’s official journal, which usually happens within hours or the day following formal approval.

The West has sanctioned Russian billionaires, frozen state assets and cut off much of the Russian corporate sector from the global economy in an attempt to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to change course on Ukraine.

Any potential sanctions on Abramovich would come during the fourth set of EU sanctions against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine on the 24th Feburary.

The EU is ready to ban the export of luxury goods to Russia, including expensive cars.

Roman Abramovich has been disqualified as a director of Chelsea, the Premier League have confirmed.

The UK government brought sanctions against the owner on Thursday over his alleged links to Russian president Vladimir Putin amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Despite Abramovich’s assets being frozen, Chelsea were handed a new licence to continue “football-related activities” and are in negotiations with the government to amend some aspects of it.

A statement from the league on Saturday read: “Following the imposition of sanctions by the UK government, the Premier League Board has disqualified Roman Abramovich as a director of Chelsea Football Club.

“The board’s decision does not impact on the club’s ability to train and play its fixtures, as set out under the terms of a licence issued by the government which expires on 31 May 2022.”

Chelsea’s sale is expected to progress with government oversight as bidders have been told to press on with submissions.

Owner Roman Abramovich’s government sanctions had stalled proceedings, with the Russian-Israeli billionaire’s UK assets frozen.

Chelsea have been handed a new licence to continue operations however, and the Blues are still locked in negotiations with the government to ease restrictions.

But New York merchant the Raine Group has assessed the terms of the licence and agreed a route forward for the sale with the government.

Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale on 2 March, pledging to write off the Blues’ £1.5billion debt and to divert all proceeds to a new foundation to benefit victims of the war in Ukraine.