According to the UK Times, the sale of Chelsea Football Club has encountered a block due to fears that owner Roman Abramovich may back out of his agreement to write off the £1.

A partnership led by LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly was chosen as the preferred bidder after a nearly two-month bidding process.

Raine Group, a US merchant bank, has offered the Boehly group a 5-7-day exclusivity period to complete the deal.

But now there's a new twist in the story.

Abramovich had stated that he "would not be asking for any loans to be repaid" when announcing his decision to sell Chelsea, but it is believed that his position has since changed.

Late last week, Chelsea told both the government and rival bidding groups that they wanted to restructure the way the club is being sold with debts of £1.6bn paid off to Jersey-based company Camberley International Investments, which appears to have links to Abramovich.

This has created a major issue, with the UK government having only approved the sale of Chelsea under the condition that Abramovich does not profit in any way.

Ministers had also been under the impression that any proceeds from the sale would be given over to the government, who would then use them to help victims of the war in Ukraine.

If Abramovich has effectively reneged on his promise to write off the £1.6bn in loans he has pumped into the club, it would not only make Chelsea an infinitely less attractive proposition for prospective buyers but it will prolong the sale process even further and create massive questions over the future of the club.