Roman Abramovich is ready to sell up at Chelsea. It seems Roman Abramovich has finally got tired of shelling out the cash at Chelsea and has reportedly put the club up for sale. The Sunday Times is leading with the story across its front page, sports and business sections this morning in what would be a record-deal for a football club. Russian billionaire Abramovich wants more than £2billion to relinquish control of the Stamford Bridge outfit – nice money if you can get it. That’s the figure the oligarch has already turned down after being approached to buy the team as recently as June by Britain’s wealthiest man Jim Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe has a personal fortune of £21bn. That dwarfs Abramovich’s wealth of £9.3bn – how does poor old Roman afford his heating bills on that, eh? The ruthless Russian is looking for a sum that vastly eclipse the £790million paid by the Glazer family in 2005 when they bought Manchester United. READ MORE: The history of record breaking transfer fees READ MORE: Revealed: the world’s most valuable sports teams In order to rake in the cash, Abramovich has hired the same US investment bank who helped Man City sell a 13 per cent stake in the club to Chinese bidders in 2015. Chelsea’s rapid growth in the years that followed their initial 2003 takeover was bankrolled by extravagant spending in the transfer market. SUNDAY TIMES: Bobbies on beat slashed by a third #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/d57H6pYf4Y — Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) August 25, 2018 Abramovich has largely kept his chequebook in his wallet in recent times, although the £71.6m deal to sign Spanish goalkeeper Kepa did raise eyebrows. The clues that he is ready to sell the club have been there after he pulled the plug on the club’s stadium expansion plans following his failure to obtain a new visa to work in the UK. Story continues Chelsea, unsurprisingly, have declined to comment. PSG ready to raid Tottenham for Eriksen Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen reacts REUTERS/Dylan Martinez. Tottenham fans have endured enough misery lately – but PSG don’t care and appear ready to inflict another blow. Mauricio Pochettino didn’t spend a single penny on transfers this summer as the club became the first team in Premier League history not to make a signing. Fans’ mood was worsened by the news that their new stadium has been hit by delays. Now, the Daily Express is claiming that big-spending PSG want to make one more big splash in the market before the European window slams shut on August 31. READ MORE: The staggering amount Ronaldo earns for one Instagram post READ MORE: The 10 worst kits in English football this season Christian Eriksen is one name on their shortlist of two midfield recruits and the Parisians are said to be preparing a £100m offer for the Dane. But don’t worry too much Spurs supporters because the article claims they will only go for Eriksen if they are unable to clinch a deal for Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic. Martial set to stay, Mbappe transfer latest and more Anthony Martial has accepted he will be staying at Manchester United despite Jose Mourinho’s wishes to see him removed from Old Trafford (The Times). Aaron Ramsey is set to make Arsenal sweat by waiting until January before opening talks over a new contract (Mail on Sunday). Real Madrid’s dream of signing Kylian Mbappe is all hinging on the outcome of a financial fair play investigation being carried out at PSG (AS). READ MORE: Michael Owen’s shock tea and coffee confession READ MORE: 14 of the best Premier League loan signings Eden Hazard would have moved to Real if Zinedine Zidane had remained in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu (Talksport). And confused Nabil Fekir says only Liverpool will ever know why his transfer to Anfield fell through at the last minute (Liverpool Echo).<doc-sep>Follow Tuchel's Blues. Get our daily Chelsea newsletter Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign me up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Chelsea have refuted claims that Roman Abramovich wants to sell the club. It has been reported that Abramovich is using US bank Raine Group to value the club ahead of putting it on the market. But club sources are adamant that nothing has changed since a £2billion offer from Britain’s “richest man” Jim Ratcliffe was turned down in the summer. They also maintain that they are not actively looking to sell and a club source familiar with the situation insisted that Chelsea is not for sale. It remains to be seen whether a bigger would change things as doubts about Abramovich’s future after the Russian billionaire was caught up in a row over his UK visa in May, effectively stopping him from working in England. (Image: Getty Images Europe) (Image: Getty Images Europe) Chelsea have already put plans on hold to redevelop Stamford Bridge into a 60,000 seater stadium which would have cost Abramovich £500m. However, Chelsea may yet look for outside investment as it was Raine Group who helped Manchester City secure an investment of £265m from China Media Capital through the sale of a 13 per cent stake in the club. Abramovich arrived in English football in 2003 when he paid just £150m for Chelsea and had the wealth to blow all of their rivals away in the transfer market. (Image: Darren Walsh) (Image: Darren Walsh) But the likes of City and Manchester United have caught up while Liverpool have also attracted interest from foreign investors looking to buy into the club. It may yet be that Chelsea and Abramovich would consider outside investment to help them redevelop Stamford Bridge. Abramovich bankrolled the Blues' summer spending — including a world-record £71m swoop for keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga — to boost new boss Maurizio Sarri, which the club insist proves the owner’s commitment for the longer term.<doc-sep>LONDON (Reuters) - Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has hired an investment bank to consider the sale of his English Premier League soccer team Chelsea, the Sunday Times newspaper reported. FILE PHOTO: Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich arrives for the Champion's League semi-final second leg soccer match against Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge in London April 30, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo A source at the club denied Abramovich planned any sale. The Sunday Times said the move by the Russian followed his rejection of an offer to buy a minority stake in the club by U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake Partners. Chelsea’s directors have brought in Joe Ravitch from the Raine Group, a bank that specialises in sport and technology, the newspaper said without citing its sources. The source at Chelsea, who declined to be identified, said: “The club is not for sale. The owner is not thinking of selling the club.” Separately, a spokesman for Abramovich in Moscow declined to comment on “market speculation.” Raine Group did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Earlier this year Jim Ratcliffe, owner of chemicals giant Ineos, bid 2 billion pounds ($2.55 billion) to buy the club, which Abramovich also turned down, the Daily Mail reported. Tensions between Britain and Russia grew this year after London accused Moscow of poisoning former double-agent Sergei Skripal in Britain in March. Russia has denied any involvement in the poisoning but wealthy Russians have been affected by the frosty relations between the two countries. Abramovich ran into problems renewing his British visa earlier this year, which caused him to miss Chelsea’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester United in May. Shortly afterwards, Chelsea said work on a new stadium in London would be suspended indefinitely, citing an unfavourable investment climate. ($1 = 0.7841 pounds)<doc-sep>
CHELSEA owner Roman Abramovich has put the club up for sale with a price tag of more than £2billion, it was claimed last night. It follows the Russian oligarch’s dispute with the Government in recent months over his visa status. 3 Businessman Roman Abramovich has apparently put Chelsea football club on the market for £2bn Credit: AFP - Getty Who is James Ratcliffe and is he going to buy Chelsea Football Club from Roman Abramovich? However a source told The Sun the club is “not for sale”. The mammoth figure demanded for Chelsea would smash the world record fee for the sale of a football club. If a buyer summons up the cash it would nearly triple the most expensive takeover in history — the Glazer family’s £790million purchase of Manchester United in 2006. The Raine Group has been hired to assist with the deal and will seek interest from China, the US and the Middle East, The Sunday Times has reported. The investment bank also helped Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi owners to flog a 13 per cent stake to Chinese investors for £1.9billion three years ago. 3 Britain's richest man, Sir John Ratcliffe, offered £2bn for the club but Abramovich refused the offer Credit: Getty Images - Getty Abramovich, 51, is said to have rejected a £2billion bid for his club from Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe earlier this year. The Russian, who has an estimated fortune of £9billion, recently acquired Israeli citizenship amid his visa row in Britain. He also halted plans for a new 60,000-capacity stadium for Chelsea that would have cost an estimated £500million. Once renowned as big spenders, Chelsea’s transfer dealings have also slowed significantly compared to their rivals. 3 Chelsea in action at Stamford Bridge. Abramovich has previously halted plans for a new 60,000-capacity stadium Credit: Getty Images - Getty Abramovich has been in charge of Chelsea since July 2003 when he bought the West London club for £140million from Ken Bates. Under his ownership, the Blues have won five Premier League titles, the Champions League, the Europa League and the FA Cup five times. Chelsea declined to comment last night.