Billionaire drops out of race to take over Chelsea from Roman Abramovich

Egyptian businessman and Chelsea season ticket holder Loutfy Mansour has pulled out of the running to buy the Blues from Roman Abramovich.

Mansour was linked with taking over the club following the announcement that Abramovich was walking away, although a consortium led by Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and American Todd Boehly is currently leading the race.

The prospect of that consortium being successful in their bid was given a boost on Friday with the news that billionaire Mansour has pulled out.

A spokesman for the businessman told The Guardian : "In light of the recent media speculation, we want to make it clear that we are not pursuing a bid for Chelsea Football Club at this time."

Russian billionaire Abramovich remains fearful of sanctions from the UK government in the wake of the ongoing war in Ukraine, although he continues to deny any links to president Vladimir Putin.

Having initially stated that he was handing over "stewardship and care" of the club to Chelsea's charitable foundation, Abramovich dramatically released a statement on Wednesday when he confirmed that his 19-year reign at Stamford Bridge was coming to an end.

"The sale of the club will not be fast-tracked but will follow due process," said Abramovich.

"I will not be asking for any loans to be repaid. This has never been about business nor money for me, but about pure passion for the game and club.

"Moreover, I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated.

"The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine. This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery.

"Please know that this has been an incredibly difficult decision to make, and it pains me to part with the club in this manner. However, I do believe this is in the best interest of the club."

Abramovich is yet to be sanctioned by the government, who did move to restrict Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov - who has previously had ties to Arsenal and more recently Everton - on Thursday.

Newcastle co-owner Amanda Staveley stated that she feels sympathy for Abramovich's situation.

"We're always going to have geopolitical issues," she said on Thursday.

"I'm really sad that someone is going to have a football club taken away because of a relationship he may have with someone.

"I don't think that's particularly fair to be honest. But we do have to hold all of our relationships to account."