Sky News has learnt that Mr Abramovich’s advisers at The Raine Group were expected to issue letters to prospective bidders on Wednesday, with a deadline set for indicative bids in mid-March.
Sources close to the process said that as many as eight multibillionaires were being sounded out about their appetite to buy the club at a time when Mr Abramovich faces the possibility of being sanctioned by the UK government after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian is said to have turned down an offer of £2.5bn for the club from an unidentified third party earlier this week, with bids of £3bn or more expected to be taken seriously.
