Chelsea could run out of cash in 17 days

The recent sanctions imposed on Roman Abramovich could see Chelsea run out of liquid cash in 17 days, according to a report from the Daily Mail. The club's Russian owner has been sanctioned by the UK government following Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine.

The report also suggests that the UK ministers are looking to sell the club worth £3 billion with Roman Abramovich getting to receive no money from it. Profits from the sale will most likely be offered to an independent charity like the Disasters Emergency Committee.

According to the aforementioned source, the Blues hierarchy are going to request the government today to ease the sanctions on their club. Otherwise, the club will run out of cash in as less as 17 days.

Based on the sanctions imposed, the Blues are unable to sell tickets and merchandise to fans. This amounted to a total revenue of £600,000 per matchday at Stamford Bridge.

They also cannot sign any new players in the transfer or renew contracts of existing members of the team.

These sanctions have also seen the club's sponsors pull out of their contracts. Main kit sponsor Three UK have already ended their association with Chelsea, while other companies like Hyundai and Nike might follow soon.

This could see the Blues run out of cash quicker than expected. According to the Daily Mail, the club only has a reserve of £16 million in their banks.

The players' wages amount to a total of £28 million per month. This does not include wages and salaries given to non-playing staff and other workers at the club.

Due to the limited cash at their disposal, the club hierarchy is set to meet with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport later today. They want sanctions to be lifted on the sale of matchday tickets, which is one of their primary sources of income.

Chelsea will also want the ban on contract renewals to be lifted if possible. Some of their key players have less than six months remaining on their current contracts. These include Antonio Rudiger and club-captain Cesar Azpilicueta.

It was business as usual for Chelsea on the pitch

Despite the off-field controversy, it was business as usual for Chelsea on the pitch as they secured a routine 3-1 win over Norwich City in the Premier League.

Goals from Trevoh Chalobah, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz rounded off a comfortable outing for the Blues at Carrow Road.

This was Chelsea's fourth consecutive win in the league with three of them coming away from home.

Thomas Tuchel's side will now host Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. They then travel to face Lille in the second leg of their Round of 16 clash in the Champions League.

Chelsea already have a 2-0 aggregate lead over the defending Ligue 1 champions from the first leg.