Thomas Tuchel said financial sanctions placed on the club prevented them from keeping Antonio Rudiger. There is a time and a place for this.
A source familiar with the matter told the news agency that a group led by Todd Boehly is in exclusive negotiations to buy the club.
The team was put up for sale by Roman Abramovich after Russia invaded Ukraine and before sanctions were imposed on the country.
The three offers featuring American investors already were being assessed when British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe launched a late bid to buy the club.
The club was put up for sale after the U.K. government imposed sanctions on Roman Abramovich for alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Under government terms, he cannot receive any proceeds from the sale himself, so he asked for an extra 500 million to go to a charity. Nadine Dorries, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, had to declare a sale of the club on borrowed time because of the delay caused by this.
With Boehly the preferred bidder by Raine, which has been handling the sale of the club, the status of Ratcliffe's offer was not clear.
A Ratcliffe spokesman wouldn't comment on the details of the bid or Boehly entering exclusive talks.
Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and a British property investor are part of the Boehly consortium.
A group led by American investor Steve Pagliuca said they were out of contention because they were not the preferred bidder. Raine representatives were not available for comment.
Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment owns a number of professional sports teams in Toronto.
Ratcliffe is the chairman of chemical company INEOS.
INEOS said in a statement that it was a British bid.
London should have a club that reflects the city's stature. It is held in the same regard as Real Madrid, Barcelona and other clubs. We intend to have a club like that.
Ineos said that 2.5 billion was committed to a charitable trust to support victims of the war, while 1.75 billion would be invested directly into the club over the next 10 years.
Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams are both in a bidding consortium led by former British Airways chairman Martin Broughton.
The bidders didn't respond to the request for comment.
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