Chelsea: Who are the potential bidders before Friday's sale deadline

With the Friday deadline for the sale of Roman Abramovich's Chelsea approaching, the major interested parties are being reported by the BBC.

The deadline to purchase the west London premier league club is on Friday 18 March, although some final bids are likely to be submitted into the weekend as known parties are to ask for more time.

The number of confirmed bids is likely to be around 10.

The preferred bidder will need government approval before the final decision is made next week. Any sale will need to be approved by the owners and directors of the league.

The asking price for the reigning champion of the Club World Cup is said to be around 3 billion dollars, although that has been described as excessive by some.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, the UK government imposed sanctions on Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who was trying to sell the club.

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1. A consortium led by ex-Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton, and joined by London 2012 chief Lord Coe
2. The Ricketts family, who own Major League Baseball team the Chicago Cubs, are leading a bid from a group of investors
3. Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and US businessman Todd Boehly have formed part of a consortium to try to take over Chelsea. Now joined by American PR executive Barbara Charone, British businessman Jonathan Goldstein and British journalist Daniel Finkelstein
4. London-based investment firm Aethel Partners, headed by Portuguese entrepreneur Ricardo Silva
5. British multi-millionaire businessman Nick Candy, supported by former Chelsea striker Gianluca Vialli, who co-owns Tifosy, a mergers and acquisitions company for the football sector
6. Turkish billionaire Muhsin Bayrak says he is one of those to have launched a bid
7. Other parties reported to be interested include US billionaire and Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris who has a stake in Crystal Palace, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and a Saudi Arabia-based consortium.

What is the club worth?

In his statement announcing his intention to sell he said that his ownership had never been about money or business, but about pure passion for the game.

He values the club at 3 billion dollars and has lent the club 1.5 billion dollars. The proceeds of the sale will be donated to war victims.

The funds from the sale could be put into a frozen account.

The price tag of 3 billion dollars seems excessive given the size of the building.

It is not big enough to generate the money that someone would want going forward, according to most commentators.

How quickly could the sale go through?

The club has won 21 trophies under the ownership ofAbramovich. He was disqualified from being a director of the club because of his British assets being frozen by the UK government.

The UK government granted a special licence to the Blues.

Existing season ticket holders can attend matches, but a new licence will need to be issued for the club to be sold.

The sale of a club in 10 days is the fastest one the league has done, according to Richard Masters.

It usually takes a matter of weeks, but it depends on the complexity and the number of potential owners.

More details about the potential buyers and their worth