Chelsea defenders Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Azpilicueta will not be allowed to discuss new contracts with the Blues after the UK government imposed sanctions on owner Roman Abramovich.
The UK government has confirmed that Abramovich has been added to the list of individuals who will be sanctioned.
The decision has implications for how Chelsea can operate on a day-to-day basis, with Chelsea understood to be meeting government officials on Thursday.
Chelsea have been granted a special license by the government so that fixtures can be fulfilled, staff can be paid and existing ticket holders can still go to matches.
No new ticket sales can be undertaken, however, and no player transfers or new contract talks with existing Chelsea players can take place.
That last point is a factor that has a significant impact on the futures of Chelsea defenders Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta, as well as on-loan Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez.
Before the news broke, all three of the defenders already appeared destined for the exit door at Stamford Bridge, with two of the aforementioned trio all but set for Barcelona, whilst Rudiger had many options still on the table.
The sanctions imposed today mean that any slim chance the club had of keeping hold of these key players appears to have gone.
Manager Thomas Tuchel, speaking in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday ahead of the Norwich game and before the government decision was announced, had warned Christensen of the mistake he would be making if he was to cut his Chelsea stay short come the summer.
"I don't think so, because these things happen, and I try and normally is the best thing not to take them personally when things like this happen," Tuchel responded to the Barcelona rumours.
"He's still our player and we will do what's best for us until his contract expires. He's a Chelsea player, that's the point, and he knows we appreciate him a lot.
"I think it's a crucial point in his Chelsea career at the moment. I think it's a crucial point where he has the chance, at the perfect age and the perfect moment, regarding the situation, the system we play, the guys who play at his side.
"Considering all these circumstances it's for me the decisive moment for him to step up and be a huge Chelsea player for the next years.
"If he decides otherwise I will not take it personally and it's in the end not important if I understand it or not. But I will treat him as my player until the very last day – if he behaves how he has behaved."
Tuchel then went on to add later that the three defenders in question needed to stop seeing the Spanish giants as a so-called step as he had prepared for what could happen in the summer.
“There are several [kinds of] step up," the German said ahead of Chelsea's trip to Norwich City. "You can have a step up financially, you can have a step up in perspective of having more minutes or the statutes of the other team. So there are many, many step-ups.
"In general, from my experience here and where I've come from, there cannot be a bigger improvement at any other club in terms of organisation, the support for the players, the mentality, the competition in which you play. I don’t see an upgrade in any other club.
"Of course, if you want to have the challenge of a new league, if you want to have the challenge of all this and maybe also in money, there are for sure possibilities always available if you’re a top, top player.
"But you can fulfil any dream here at this club and I do not think we should not hide from that. We should not be too humble in that. I think we can fight for any player and we have good, good reasons to provide that players stay.”
It appears Tuchel's hopes of keeping these key players have been dashed by the latest developments at Chelsea, as players, club staff and supporters wait to see the full impact the government sanctions on their owner will have on the club.
