After Roman Abramovich's assets get frozen, potential buyers for Chelsea told to approach UK government

Anyone interested in buying Chelsea Football Club can make a proposal to the British government, a minister said on Friday, after London sanctioned owner Roman Abramovich and halted his planned sale of the Premier League side.

Anyone interested in buying Chelsea Football Club can make a proposal to the British government, a minister said on Friday, after London sanctioned owner Roman Abramovich and halted his planned sale of the Premier League side.

"As the license conditions are written today, the sale would not be allowed," Britain`s technology minister Chris Philp told Sky News.

"However, if a buyer emerged it would be open to that buyer or to that football club to approach the government and ask for the conditions to be varied in a way that allows that sale to take place."

British property developer Nick Candy remains interested in making a bid, a spokesperson said in a statement, and was examining the details of Thursday`s sanctions announcement.

The government, which has been under pressure to ramp up sanctions on Russian oligarchs after Moscow`s invasion of Ukraine late last month, imposed a travel ban and froze Abramovich`s assets on Thursday. The announcement brought to a halt his recently announced plans to sell the West London football club, which he had expected to fetch more than three billion pounds ($3.9 billion).