Chelsea sale suffers blow amid fears of Abramovich will renege on loan promise

Another major blow for Chelsea

The sale of Chelsea has hit a major stumbling block following reports that outgoing owner Roman Abramovich is set to renege on his promise to write off a £1.6bn debt. According to the The Times, Chelsea told the government, and the rival bidders competing to own the Blues, that they want to restructure the way the club is being sold. This includes paying off the debt from Chelsea's parent company, Fordstam Ltd to a Jersey-based company Camberley International Investments, which is rumoured to have links to the Russian oligarch. There are concerns over whether this can actually happen, given that Abramovich is currently sanctioned by the UK government and has all of his assets frozen. Ministers have previously been under the impression that all proceeds from the sale of the club would go to the government who would be able to provide it to good causes such as helping the victims of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Abramovich previously said he would write off the debt

When Abramovich first announced his decision to put the club up for sale, he said: "I will not be asking for any loans to be repaid." It is now believed that the oligarch is claiming that the sanctions imposed by the UK government are preventing him from writing off the debt - something the government would challenge him on. Last week the consortium led by American Todd Boehly - who also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball team - was told by Chelsea's US bankers that they they had been given a five-day period of exclusivity as the club's preferred bidder. Related links:

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