The writing was on the wall for Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club who over nearly two decades in English football became the prototype of spending big to win big, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine last month.
Two days after President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine, Abramovich released a statement announcing that he was handing over "stewardship and care" of Chelsea to the trustees of the west London club's charitable foundation.
What was regarded as a move to keep the Champions League holders out of reach of the British government as it began sanctioning moneyed Russian nationals failed, however, less than two weeks later when Abramovich's UK assets were frozen on 10 March.
When announcing that he was stepping back from the club, Abramovich described himself as a "custodian" with "the club's best interests at heart", and it was inferred that the mining magnate would not recall £1.5bn in loans he had issued to Chelsea.
What started as an attempt to attract a premium buyer at short notice in the face of calls for sanctions following the invasion was soon halted once the British government put tight restrictions on Chelsea's operations -- the club currently isn't even allowed to sell tickets, enter the transfer market and has a limit on match day spending.
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Abramovich was described by the British government in its sanctions announcement as a "prominent Russian businessman and pro-Kremlin oligarch" who had been "close" to Putin for decades and who had financially and materially benefitted from his relationship with Putin and the Russian government.
Abramovich was hoping to receive £3.5bn in any prospective sale of Chelsea, but with the club now frozen and government approval required, many football finance experts have predicted that a sale will generate close to £2bn, and there are several parties circling.
The deadline for bids to New York merchant bank Raine Group, which Abramovich appointed to oversee the sale, passed last Friday, and Raine said the UK government would have to approve "both the source and use of funds" in any potential sale.
The likes of the True Blue consortium fronted by former Chelsea captain John Terry, the consortium of British property developer Nick Candy and South Korea's Hana Finance Group, the Saudi Media Group, and Ghanaian mining titan Bernard Antwi Boasiako are believed to be out of the running, leaving five main contenders.
Josh Harris and David Blizter
US private equity billionaire Harris and Blitzer have reached out to British two-time Olympic champion runner Sebastian Coe and former British American Tobacco chair Martin Broughton to bolster their credentials with the British establishment as they consider their bid.
Coe chaired the London 2012 Olympics while Broughton, who was also formerly involved with British Airways and the Confederation of British Industry, negotiated the sale of Chelsea rivals Liverpool FC to the Fenway Sports Group in 2010 when the Merseyside club was in administration.
Coe, now president of World Athletics and a former Conservative MP, would be especially useful for his connections, having worked closely with then-London Mayor Boris Johnson during the Olympics, while Broughton, 75, is a lifelong Chelsea fan.
Harris, 57, is a former executive at Apollo Global Management while Blitzer, 52, is a senior executive at Blackstone, and the pair are the co-founders of sports investment firm that has controlling stakes in the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team and the New Jersey Devils ice hockey team.
Harris has amassed an estimated personal fortune of $5bn, but he is believed to be more interested in acquiring the NFL's Denver Broncos, but Blitzer sees value in football with investments in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the US.
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment also has a minority stake in Crystal Palace, which it would have to divest if the consortium captures Chelsea.
Todd Boehly
US financier and co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team Todd Boehly, formerly of Citibank, Credit Suisse and venture capitalists JC Whiting & Co, made a reputation for himself as a trendspotter at Guggenheim Partners, foreseeing the collapse of Enron and marshalling the group established to invest the Guggenheim mining wealth through the crash.
He bought the Dodgers for $2.15bn, a record sum for a sports team, in 2011, and his interest in Chelsea was revealed by Swiss, California-based billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, a partner in the bid, two weeks ago.
Boehly has also tapped Times of London columnist and Tory peer Danny Finkelstein and music PR Barbara Charone, both Chelsea fans, as non-executive directors if he buys Chelsea.
He's also planning to redevelop Chelsea's ground, Stamford Bridge -- long put off by Abramovich amid personal and geopolitical instability -- and he reportedly reckons he could do it for around £1bn and without the expense of digging underground and excavating who knows what.
It is believed Boehly would follow the model employed by Fenway Sports Group as it led Liverpool back to the football elite, using data and investing sensibly in facilities while not breaking the bank on recruitment, if he is installed at Chelsea's helm.
The Ricketts Family
The Chicago Cubs owners confirmed their interest last Wednesday, and Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts has previously shown interest in AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspur.
Family patriarch Joe Ricketts, 80, made his fortune as the founder of the Ameritrade brokerage and with investments in bison meat, film and sports, although his family has been trying to make up for his public anti-Muslim sentiments, which might be a major problem considering Chelsea's many Muslim fans and players.
Ken Griffin of Chicago hedge fund Citadel is also involved in the bid, and his $20bn net worth would add to the family's firepower if a bidding war breaks out, and he would also help with developing the area around Stamford Bridge for lucrative entertainment purposes should they be successful.
Woody Johnson
The great-grandson of the founder of Johnson & Johnson and former US ambassador to the UK under Donald Trump has a net worth of around $4.5bn and already owns the NFL's New York Jets.
The 75-year-old's connection to Trump may hurt him, and fans of the club may not be pleased to see how he has handled the Jets, one of American football's consistently worst teams.
Oaktree Capital
Founded by Wall St veteran Howard Marks, Oaktree Capital owns French second division side Caen and has loaned money to Inter Milan's Chinese owners.
As a major creditor of Inter, the $166bn asset manager is positioned to take ownership of the Serie A club if it defaults on repayments -- a complication that might scupper its bid for Chelsea as owners are not allowed to enter two clubs in UEFA competitions.
