Chelsea's short-term future was thrown into disarray on Thursday morning following the UK government's decision to place owner Roman Abramovich under strict sanctions, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The club will no longer be allowed to sell tickets or merchandise, offer new contracts to players or staff, sign new players, sell players or spend more than £20,000 on getting to and from fixtures. It has also placed Abramovich's sale of the club in doubt.
But with the sanctions, which are currently in place until May 31, Chelsea could be unable to offer new contracts to three of their star defenders, depending on what happens beyond the aforementioned date. The deals of Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are all up in the summer.
