Chelsea’s credit card facilities have been temporarily suspended as banks analyze the impact of Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich’s sanctions.
Despite Abramovich’s assets being blocked by the UK government, the club has been granted a special license to function.
Banks want to evaluate the license requirements to make sure they don’t violate government restrictions, and Chelsea has no idea when the ban will be removed.
Chelsea is prohibited from receiving money for unsold match tickets, future gate proceeds for FA Cup games, or products from the club shop under the conditions of the license.
With a monthly pay cost of £28 million, this is likely to leave the club with a big gap.
Chelsea submitted applications to the government on Thursday and Friday to amend the conditions of the license, allowing the club to earn money from ticket sales and increasing expenditure limitations.
The current license allows for a maximum spend of £500,000 on home matches and a maximum spend of £20,000 on away matches.
Raine Group, the American investment group hired to oversee the sale before Abramovich was sanctioned, was involved in discussions about amending the license to allow for a prospective sale of the club.
On Friday, a spokesman for the Prime Minister later said the government was “in constant contact” with Chelsea and the Premier League and said the Blues could apply for an “amended licence”.
They added: “I believe Chelsea have said that they will do that, and we’ll obviously work with the club and the league to consider any operationally necessary changes.”