Roman Abramovich may be forced to slash his £3billion valuation of Chelsea in a bid to find a buyer for the club.
Abramovich’s asking price for the World and European champions is regarded as hugely optimistic by football finance experts - with the Russian oligarch’s desperation to sell putting him at the mercy of potential buyers looking for a bargain.
A high-level source with expertise in the process involved in buying Premier League clubs said: “Abramovich will be lucky to get close to £2billion.
“There are buyers out there looking for a club of Chelsea’s stature - but the fact that Abramovich is looking for a quick sale weakens his position considerably.
“Anyone who comes to the table isn’t going to just give him what he wants.”
Turkish billionaire Muhsin Bayrak is the latest tycoon to be linked with the London club after Abramovich put Chelsea on the market following his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Swiss businessman Hansjorg Wyss has also been contacted about buying the Blues in partnership with Todd Boehly, the owner of US baseball giants LA Dodgers.
Abramovich is willing to give the proceeds of any deal to charities trying to help those people caught up in the escalating conflict.
He is also ready to write-off £1.5billion in loans he has made to Chelsea in the 19 years since he paid £140million to buy-out Ken Bates.
But a new owner would also be faced with the conundrum of Stamford Bridge.
Abramovich pulled the plug on a £1billion plan to bulldoze Chelsea’s 42,000-capacity home and build a new world-class stadium when his application for British citizenship was denied by the government almost four years ago.
It has been estimated that the cost of a new 60,000-seater ground in the heart of West London has now doubled.
The city insider said: “Owners can no longer plough their own cash into football clubs like Abramovich did when he first arrived.
“So for Chelsea to be sustainable, the club needs a stadium that will allow them to generate the revenue we see at Old Trafford, the Emirates and the new White Hart Lane.
“There aren’t too many individuals with that kind of cash burning a hole in their back pocket.
“And as soon as a consortium comes to the table, the timescale on any buy-out takes much longer simply because the seller has come to an agreement with more people.
“A quick sale looks unrealistic in my view. Richard Masters (Premier League chief executive) has said it could be done in 10 days.
“It may only take that long for the Premier League to ratify the deal, but completing a sale in three months would be tough because of the amount of due diligence that has to be done.
“It took 18 months for Mike Ashley’s sale of Newcastle to the Saudis to get over the line.”
Abramovich could have sold Chelsea to Sir Jim Ratcliffe last year when Britain’s richest man was in the market for a Premier League club.
Ratcliffe, who is worth an estimated £20billion, walked away when Abramovich quoted him £3billion.
The 69-year-old Manchester United fan who founded chemical giant Ineos, felt around £1.7billion was a more realistic price.
Ratcliffe now owns French club Nice and has made it clear he no longer has any interest in Chelsea.
The feeling in the city is that Abramovich’s willingness to sell the club has bought him time from the government as prime minister Boris Johnson comes under mounting pressure to sanction those linked to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The insider added: “It seems clear that Abramovich fears sanctions are coming his way but I think he has tried to manoeuvre an escape route by puting the club up for sale and offering to give the proceeds to charity.
“The government is being asked questions about why he hasn’t been sanctioned, but politicians won't want to damage Chelsea Football Club and by extension the Premier League.
“Another problem Abramovich is faced with is that his country is now at war and there will be potential buyers out there who will be reluctant to do business under such circumstances.”
