The second round of bidding to become Chelsea's new owners draws to a close later today and all four shortlisted parties have said their offers will be cash only, effectively ensuring the club will not be saddled with debt under its new custodians.
An unprecedented fee for an English football club is guaranteed and the final amount may even surpass the record paid for an American franchise, the £2.52billion spent by Joseph Tsai for NBA franchise Brooklyn Nets in 2019, with experts saying the final total for Chelsea could be closer to £3billion.
But where the money exactly goes remains unclear. The profits are expected to either go to charities dedicated to victims of the war in Ukraine or be placed in an escrow account, where it will be frozen and held for an undetermined length of time - perhaps until Roman Abramovich is no longer on the UK government sanctions list.
