Thomas Tuchel insists he is happy to remain the Chelsea as manager despite acknowledging that the “situation will not go away” after owner Roman Abramovich was hit with asset-freezing sanctions by the UK Government.
Russian-Israeli billionaire Abramovich put the Blues up for sale on March 2 in the wake of Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.
On Thursday morning the UK government sanctioned the Chelsea owner amid ties to Vladimir Putin, something Abramovich has always strongly denied, to put any sale of the club in doubt, but a change of ownership could still occur.
The Treasury would have to approve a new licence for the sale, on the proviso no profit would go to Abramovich, and the uncertainty is bound to create anxiety at Stamford Bridge.
On the pitch, however, the men’s team secured a 3-1 win at Norwich, while the women’s side beat West Ham 4-1 on Thursday night. Without the ability to sign players or extend contracts, there is great uncertainty surrounding both the men’s and women’s teams this summer - here are the players under the current circumstances who would leave the Blues:
Chelsea players’ contracts set to expire in summer 2022
- Antonio Rüdiger
- Saúl Ñíguez
- Andreas Christensen
- César Azpilicueta
- Charly Musonda Jr.
- Danny Drinkwater
- Baba Rahman
- Jake Clarke-Salter
Chelsea Women players’ contracts set to expire in summer 2022
- Maren Mjelde
- Jonna Andersson
- Ji So-Yun
- Drew Spence
