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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Jake Polden

Roman Abramovich 'opens talks to buy new club' while trying to sell Chelsea

Roman Abramovich has allegedly opened talks to buy a new football club while still in the process of trying to sell Chelsea.

The billionaire put the Stamford Bridge club up for sale in early March before he was hit with sanctions by the UK government. Abramovich had his assets frozen as a direct result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, due to his ties with Vladamir Putin, preventing him from making money via Chelsea.

According to Turkish publication Fanatik, the Russian is apparently keen to remain within the football industry and has now started negotiations to buy Super Lig club Goztepe.

Turkey is currently not applying sanctions to Russians, and the reports of Abramovich opening negotiations with Goztepe come just 48 hours after his £750million super-yacht Eclipse docked at a port in the resort of Marmaris.

His other luxury yacht, My Solaris, arrived in Bodrum a day earlier, triggering a protest by a group of Ukrainians, who unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the vessel from docking aboard a small motorboat.

Have Your Say! Who do you want to be the next Chelsea owner? Tell us here.

Roman Abramovich's £750million super-yacht Eclipse docked at a port in Turkey on Tuesday (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Turkey is a member of NATO but has a unique position in the conflict due to its close links to both Russia and Ukraine. The country has been critical of Putin's invasion but has also remained neutral in a bid to mediate between the two nations.

Chelsea have received a flurry of bids from potential buyers in recent weeks. The contenders to purchase the club include Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, American businessman Todd Boehly, Property developer Nick Candy, Global investment firm Centricus, New York Jets owner, The Ricketts family and Sir Martin Broughton.

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