“As the licence conditions are written today, the sale would not be allowed,” Britain’s technology minister Chris Philp told Sky News.

“However, if a buyer emerged it would be open to that buyer or to that football club to approach the government and ask for the conditions to be varied in a way that allows that sale to take place.”

The government, which has been under pressure to ramp up sanctions on Russian oligarchs after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine late last month, imposed a travel ban and froze the assets owned by Abramovich yesterday.

The announcement effectively brought to a halt his recently-announced plans to sell the West London football club, which he had expected to fetch more than £3 billion.

Separately, London-listed Russian steelmaker Evraz, in which Abramovich is the largest shareholder with a 28.6% stake according to Refinitiv Eikon, said today its entire board had quit.