Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss has claimed that he is one of four people to have been offered the chance to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.
In an interview with Blick about Russia's invasion of Ukraine the 86-year-old said that he is interested but is "four or five days" from being in a clearer position. He would be unable to buy the club himself and would need to form a six or seven person consortium.
Wyss's fortune comes from the sale of a medical device company, Synthes, to Johnson and Johnson for about $20billion (£15billion) in 2012. Forbes describes Wyss as "one of the most philanthropic people in the world" and he has invested $2billion in charitable causes. His current worth is estimated to be around £3.8billion.
He told Blick: "[Abramovich] wants to get rid of Chelsea quickly. I and three other people received an offer on Tuesday to buy Chelsea from Abramovich.
"I have to wait four to five days now. Abramovich is currently asking far too much. You know, Chelsea owe him £2billion [it is £1.5billion]. But Chelsea has no money. That means: those who buy Chelsea should compensate Abramovich.
"As of today, we don't know the exact selling price. I can well imagine starting at Chelsea with partners. But I have to examine the general conditions first. But what I can already say: I'm definitely not doing something like this alone. If I buy Chelsea, then with a consortium consisting of six to seven investors."
Last weekend Abramovich announced that he was going to hand the "stewardship and care" of Chelsea to the club's charitable foundation but the club said that he would remain sole owner and had no intention of selling.
But that transfer has been held up due to concerns raised by the Charity Commission and at least one trustee who believes there could be a conflict of interest.
Abramovich vehemently denies any direct links to Russian president Vladimir Putin but the decision to step back from decision-making was made to protect the club's reputation because of an increased focus on the 55-year-old after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine.
MPs including Chris Bryant and Dame Maragaret Hodge have used parliamentary privilege to call on Abramovich to face sanctions. The club say he has done nothing to deserve sanctioning.
His spokeswoman has not responded to a request for comment.
