After the sanctions, drinks and food became Chelsea's only new source of income

CHELSEA will have to rely on matchday revenue such as food and drink as their ONLY fresh source of income for the foreseeable future.

That is because the club has been banned from operating any kind of business after Roman Abramovich had his assets frozen by the government.

Ticket sales, merchandise sales and player incoming and outgoings have all been halted by the ruling.

But a special licence does allow Chelsea to fulfil their fixtures with season ticket holders allowed in at Stamford Bridge.

And those fans will have access to refreshments like normal, according to Associated Press journalist Rob Harris.

A government statement read: "To ensure the club can continue to compete and operate we are issuing a special licence.

"That will allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches while, crucially, depriving Abramovich of benefiting from his ownership"

The food and drink revenue would be included in hospitality income.

The basic "pie and pint" money is thought to net Chelsea a maximum of £200k per game - which would be able to get them much (Declan) Rice.

The restrictions imposed will be reviewed in May according to the Daily Mail's Rob Draper.

But the worst is still to come for The Blues who could be hit with a points deduction if they go into administration.

They are also set to lose a number of stars whose contracts expire in the summer such as captain Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.

The club has even been restricted in its spending on travel to away games.

A limit of £20,000 has been placed on Chelsea which means the trip to Lille next week is in doubt.

The club would ordinarily fly out on a private plane the day before the match and stay in a luxury hotel but that is likely to exceed the new budget.