It's more than 15 years since one of the single biggest paradigm shifts in English football: the day Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea.
The tale goes that Abramovich was so enraptured by the Champions League clash between Manchester United and Real Madrid at Old Trafford, he simply had to invest in a club. (That his doing so was a way of safeguarding his fortune from Vladimir Putin might be a more accurate motivation).
Nonetheless, Abramovich turned Chelsea into one of the biggest clubs in European football and set a template for others to follow - and in the case of Manchester City - outstrip him.
The last couple of years have hinted at a dwindling interest, however, with transfer spending dipping. In the last couple of months, plans to expand Stamford Bridge were abandoned as Abramovich dealt with a different problem: in a freezing of relations between London and Moscow, his visa was delayed by the Home Office. He found a workaround by applying for Israeli citizenship.
It now appears that he is willing to get out of Chelsea altogether. Sabah Meddings of The Sunday Times reports that Abramovich has hired the same specialist US investment bank who helped Man City's Abu Dhabi sell a 13% stake to Chinese investors in 2015.
Abramovich has already turned down a takeover offer of £2 billion from Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Britain's richest man. The sticking point was the price, as Abramovich sees the club as being worth more.
Any takeover bid in that ballpark would represent the biggest in the history of the game.
