New club in line for Russian revolution

Another Russian billionaire is set to buy a Premiership club this summer, according to the man who played a key role in organising Abramovich's buyout of Chelsea.

"I don't exclude that this summer another Premier League team will become 'Russian,'" said super agent Pini Zahavi in an interview with Russian sports magazine Pro Sport.

Zahavi refused to name the possible buyer, saying "don't ask me the details, the negotiations have only just begun."

The mystery billionaire could be any of the dozens of them now living in Russia, which has more billionaires than any other country apart from the United States, according to a report in Forbes magazine last month.

"After Roman Abramovich's buyout of Chelsea, interest in purchases of

such kind increased dramatically." said Zahavi. The club mentioned most in Russian media has been Manchester City, said Stanislav Gridasov, editor of Pro Sport.

Vladimir Potanin, Russia's fourth richest man worth £2.7billion according to Forbes, has been linked to City, and previously to Arsenal, although he denied any interest in the clubs this month.

Another possible candidate is Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian deputy and co-owner of oil company Nafta-Moskva, who failed in a £270million bid for Roma last year.

He also failed last year to buy Russian club Torpedo in a deal with Russian banker Alexander Mamut. Both Mamut and Kerimov are said to be close to Abramovich.

Zahavi also spoke in the interview about his role in the Chelsea deal. He said: "I was asked to find out the price of the club and almost immediately a decision was made.

"Roman Abramovich sees clearly what he wants and makes a decision without wavering, that's why it is easy to work with him."