Roman Abramovich said on Saturday owning Chelsea had been the “honour of a lifetime” after the Premier League club said the sale to a consortium led by Todd Boehly, the co-owner of baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, was expected to be completed by Monday.

Chelsea were put on the market in early March, days before Abramovich was sanctioned by the British government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “I am pleased this search has now come to a successful conclusion,” Abramovich said.