Chelsea takeover collapse as Abramovic makes move to recoup £1.6B in loans 

Business tycoon Roman Abramovich has been warned the sale of Chelsea may be blocked if he does not go back on a last-gasp U-turn.

When Abramovich announced his plan to sell the club in March, ending his 19-year reign, the Russian insisted he was not looking to benefit.

In his unprecedented public statement, issued through the club website, Abramovich said: “I will not be asking for any loans to be repaid.

“This has never been about business nor money for me but about pure passion for the game and the club.”

But it has now emerged that Chelsea have informed the Government that Abramovich now does want the £1.6bn he had loaned to the club through an investment vehicle to be repaid, in full, as part of the sale process.

That has put the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which has the final right of assent to any new buyer after Abramovich’s assets were frozen, on high alert.

And unless the Chelsea owner reverts to his original promises, the possibility of the entire deal being blocked, potentially consigning Chelsea to the scrapheap and ending 117 years of Stamford Bridge history, is a real one.

It is understood that, despite granting “exclusive terms” to the consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly - although Britain’s richest man Jim Ratcliffe retains an interest in a £4.25bn deal - Chelsea are demanding a change in the process.

The club have argued that the debt “owed” to Abramovich through the club’s parent company Fordstam should be sent as part of the proceeds of sale to Jersey-based Camberley International Investment.

Abramovich’s name does not appear on any financial listings of the Channel Islands concern but it is believed he is linked to the company.

That, the Government believes, would mean the Russian banking a significant portion of the sale funds, despite his previous public statements insisting that was not a concern or interest.

But ministers have made it clear that they will not accept the Russian benefitting in any way from the process after he was placed on the UK sanctions list for his support of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The idea that Abramovich or a related company will be able to walk away with £1.6bn - albeit money that he has previously loaned the club over the past 19 years - was described last night as “a non-starter”.

It has been reiterated to Chelsea that the club’s operating licence only runs until May 31 and that the club is now, genuinely, on borrowed time.

Unless a deal that is acceptable to the Government - and which ensures Abramovich does not receive cash - goes through by that date, the possibility of the club being folded is a real one, although it is not expected the nuclear button would be pressed.

Meanwhile, it emerged that Ratcliffe and Ineos are frustrated at being shut out of the Chelsea sale by Abramovich's chosen brokers, the US investment group Raine.

Ratcliffe expected the New York-based company to engage with Jim after he launched his late bid on Friday.

Instead, Raine have so far refused to even respond to Ineos, leaving the Brit bid disappointed.

Ineos believe that Raine seem more comfortable at the idea of dealing with a US bidder but feel Blues fans should be concerned that the Boehly bid will be 66 per cent funded by venture capital outfit Clearlake.