Hansjorg Wyss: The Swiss billionaire who could buy Chelsea FC from Roman Abramovich

The 86-year-old is said to be putting together a consortium to bid for the London club, Alex Pattle explains

Hansjorg Wyss, who founded Synthes USA, pictured in 2015 (Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Oceana)

The fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was always likely to be far-reaching – geographically perhaps, but certainly in terms of its political and financial impact. Yet one sphere that is almost always affected by events as seismic as this is sport.

Speculation around Roman Abramovich’s exact relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin have existed since the politician’s compatriot bought Chelsea Football Club in 2003, but in the two decades since, such questions have faded into the background as the focus shifted onto the pitch, where the London team have won 20 trophies since Abramovich’s arrival.

That is not true since Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian teams have been thrown out of sporting competitions, notably Fifa and Uefa football tournaments, while the International Olympic Committee has called on numerous governing bodies in sport to expel Russia from their events. Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic have all refused to play Russia in the impending Fifa World Cup qualifying play-offs, potentially eliminating the invading nation from one of the biggest sporting competitions on the planet.