The English Premier League has announced that its board has approved the £4.

The completion of the club’s purchase from Roman Abramovich must still be cleared by the UK government, which has to issue a sale licence. It wants to be satisfied that none of the proceeds will go to Abramovich, who was hit with sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and to get guarantees regarding his £1.6 billion (€1.87 billion) loan to the club.

The league said in a statement: “The Premier League board has today approved the proposed takeover of Chelsea Football Club by the Todd Boehly/Clearlake consortium."

The purchase remains subject to the government issuing the required sale licence and the satisfactory completion of the final stages of the transaction.

“The board has applied the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test to all prospective directors and undertaken the necessary due diligence.

“The members of the consortium purchasing the club are affiliates of the Clearlake Capital Group, L.P., Todd Boehly, Hansjörg Wyss, and Mark Walter. Chelsea FC will now work with the relevant governments to secure the necessary licences to complete the takeover.