Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss has claimed he was offered the chance to buy Chelsea, according to reports.
The 86-year-old has admitted his interest in buying the Stamford Bridge club from Roman Abramovich, but only as part of a consortium.
Russian-Israeli billionaire Abramovich reportedly wants to keep his Chelsea ownership.
But that could actually prove nearly impossible if the UK government imposes sanctions on the 55-year-old, owner of the west London club since 2003.
Wyss admitted he would look into the details of any possible deal to buy Chelsea, with the asking price expected to top £2billion.
“Abramovich is trying to sell all his villas in England, he also wants to get rid of Chelsea quickly,” Wyss told Swiss newspaper Blick.
“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 way too much.
“You know, Chelsea owe him £2billion. But Chelsea have no money.
“To date, we do not know the exact sale price.”
Abramovich tried to step down from day-to-day management of Chelsea on Saturday, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Blues boss has attempted to hand over the ‘stewardship and care’ of Chelsea to the trustees of the club’s charitable foundation.
This led the Charity Commission to contact the club at Stamford Bridge for further details of Abramovich’s plans, after several administrators raised concerns over technicalities.
Labor MP Chris Bryant has called on the UK government to impose sanctions on Abramovich after a number of Russian oligarchs have already been hit with such sanctions.
Abramovich reportedly tried to hand over control of Chelsea to the trustees of the foundation in a bid to protect the club.
The Chelsea owner would receive no penalty protection by stepping away from daily scrutiny at Stamford Bridge.
Abramovich’s spokesman told the PA news agency on Monday that the Russian-Israeli businessman was trying to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Swiss billionaire Wyss, who founded medical device company Synthes USA, has insisted he can only consider a deal for Chelsea with a handful of investment partners.
“I can well imagine starting at Chelsea with partners,” Wyss said.
“But first I have to look at the terms and conditions.
“But what I can already say: I certainly don’t do something like this alone.
“If I buy Chelsea, then with a consortium of six to seven investors.”