Roman Abramovich has told the three bidders in the race to buy Chelsea that they must raise their offers by £500m, which will be donated straight to charity.
Abramovich is not allowed to make any money from the sale of Chelsea after being sanctioned by the UK government for his links to Russian president Vladimir Putin, with the three bidders - Todd Boehly, Sir Martin Broughton and Stephen Pagliuca - instead pledging to invest in the club and agreeing to Abramovich's request to donate to charity.
According to Sky News, Abramovich is looking to donate a total of £2.5bn to charitable causes once the sale is complete and he has asked all three bidders to come up with an extra £500m to make it possible.
It is thought that all three bidders are prepared to come up with the money, although just how easily they will be able to find the additional funding so late in the bidding process is not yet clear.
Furthermore, some of the bidders have demanded assurances over the destination of the additional funds.
In exchange for the awkwardness of the demand, the group managing the sale, Raine, have informed bidders that some of the financial restraints initially put on the offers will be relaxed.
Abramovich is looking to sell Chelsea for somewhere around the £4bn mark, with £2.5bn of that going to charity and a further £1.5bn being set aside to invest in Chelsea's facilities.
Prospective new owners have been asked to guarantee funding for a new stadium, player signings and upgrades for the men's, women's and academy teams.
Source : 90min