The reason is, Chelsea’s Russian owner, Roman Abramovich, was included in England’s sanctions list on March 10. Along with a number of oligarchs, he was sanctioned when Russia invaded Ukraine. The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, stated that they could not afford to give Vladimir Putin supporters a free port.

Abramovich tried to sell the club in early March. However, the sanctions have delayed the process indefinitely. So far, it has had consequences for Chelsea.

– I don’t know much

London clubs are allowed to pay player salaries, as well as necessary operating expenses. however, they cannot sign new players or extend existing contracts.

Norway captain Maren Mjelde is among those out of contract this summer.

– Clubs have an option for a year they want to activate before this happens. “I don’t know more than that, but of course hope to stay at Chelsea,” Mjelde told NRK.

The 32-year-old said it was a challenging situation at first. The players know little and receive little information. The club’s push is to focus on what they can do until further notice.

– It was a bit challenging at first, because you know so little and we get very little information, said Mjelde, who was in dialogue with the club about the continuation:

– I had received a very good signal from the club before this happened and we had a dialogue. It goes without saying that when you have a sanction there is little you can do before the club is finally sold and this sanction goes away, said Mjelde, who stressed he wanted to stay at Chelsea.

Think the situation is unsustainable in the long term

The Norwegian’s second feature at the London club, Guro Reiten, is on a contract that extends until 2023. He admits that recent times have been special for the team.

– We live in a world where the things we expect don’t happen. For our part, this way is just about keeping the focus on what we can focus on.

He had not paid much attention to sanctions. Daily life went on as usual and he was mostly focused on questionable matters.

– I haven’t put myself too much into it, but in the long run you can’t run a football club like that. I think everyone understands that.

Swede Jonna Andersson (29) is in a similar situation to Mjelde. It was clear that he would continue his career at Hammarby after the season ended.

• Norway meets Poland in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday at 19.00. NRK show the match on TV and broadcast it on radio.