Swiss billionaire claims he received offer to buy Chelsea amid Roman Abramovich uncertainty
- Planet Sport writer
- 2 March 2022
Hansjorg Wyss, who made his fortune from a medical device firm, revealed he was offered the chance to purchase Chelsea from current owner Roman Abramovich.
The 86-year-old billionaire admitted that he was interested in the deal, but only as part of a consortium.
Speaking to Swiss newspaper Blick, he said: "Abramovich is trying to sell all his villas in England, he also wants to get rid of Chelsea quickly.
"I and three other people received an offer on Tuesday to buy Chelsea from Abramovich.
"I have to wait four to five days now. Abramovich is currently asking far too much.
"You know, Chelsea owe him £2 billion. But Chelsea has no money.
"As of today, we don't know the exact selling price. But what I can already say, I'm definitely not doing something like this alone. If I buy Chelsea, then with a consortium consisting of six to seven investors."
Current owner Abramovich is understood to want to retain his ownership of Chelsea.
But that could effectively prove impossible should the UK Government impose sanctions on the 55-year-old, who has owned the west London club since 2003.
The Russian-Israeli billionaire attempted to step back from the daily running of Chelsea on Saturday, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Blues boss has tried to hand the "stewardship and care" of Chelsea to the club's charitable foundation trustees.
That led the Charity Commission to contact the Stamford Bridge club for more detail on Abramovich's plans, after several of the trustees raised concerns over technicalities.
Labour MP Chris Bryant has called for the UK Government to impose sanctions on Abramovich after a number of Russian oligarchs have already fallen under such penalties.
Abramovich's spokesperson told the PA news agency on Monday that the Russian-Israeli businessman was attempting to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
