Roman Abramovich has reportedly 'given the green light' for the sale of Chelsea Football Club to go ahead despite the UK government sanctioning the Blues owner.
Abramovich was added to the UK's sanction list earlier this week, which cast doubt over whether the billionaire would be able to complete the sale of Chelsea after stating his intention to sell the club last week.
The west London club can still be sold, but any money from the sale is not allowed to benefit Abramovich.
According to a report from the Telegraph, Abramovich has given the go-ahead for the sale to be completed, with bids expected to be considered 'by the end of next week'.
The Russian has reportedly told Raine Group to go ahead with the sale, which ultimately takes the process out of his hands.
There are said to be three front-runners in the race to purchase Chelsea FC from Abramovich - with Todd Boehly's consortium, the Ricketts family and Robert "Woody" Johnson all said to have put forward their respective offers.
On the pitch, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is doing his best to shut out the outside noise, with the Blues beating Norwich City 3-1 on Thursday evening, recording their fourth Premier League victory in a row.
Speaking after the game, Tuchel revealed what he and the players need to do to distract themselves from the behind the scenes chaos at the club.
The German coach said: "As long as we have a fixture and as long as we have enough shirts and as long as the bus is full of fuel we will be there, we will be competitive and we will be there in the best spirit because we love the game.
"This is what everyone can be sure of and this is what we demand of ourselves. When it's a big storm you dig in and you hold together and hold strong and get through it.
"It's always the best way for a football team, to carry on winning. Of course, also for us, it's maybe at the moment a bit more difficult because of the noise.
"There will be some players who feel uncertainty, some will maybe be a bit frightened, some will be concerned. It's normal.
"It's also not only about the players. We have a lot of people in the staff and in the club who are maybe also worried and scared and uncertain.
"That's why it's very important that we keep the trust and the belief in the training centre, in all of us, and we rely on ourselves and in the end allow ourselves to be the guys who take care of the sport, because we did not cause the situation, we cannot solve the situation."
