Roman loses £12bn on bad day for London's club

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The owner of Chelsea FC has seen his fortune dwindle as Russia's Micex Index has gone into freefall.

The decline in value of two of his companies on the Moscow-based index, steel maker Evraz and mining company Highland Gold, has left the 41 year-old tycoon $20.3 billion (£11.9 billion) out of pocket.

The staggering loss was revealed today by analysts who said it represented a decline in the equity value of traded companies.

Abramovich's woes come on a disastrous financial day for London's Premiership football clubs with the owners of Arsenal and West Ham also suffering.

Arsenal FC's part owner Alisher Usmanov has lost £7 billion ($11.7 billion) on the Micex index which has declined 61 percent since its peak in May and was closed today for the second time this week.

The metals and mining mogul and Abramovich are part of a list of 25 Russian oligarch's who have lost £140 billion ($238 billion) on the Micex index.

The country's ailing economy has also been hit by war with Georgia and foreign capitalists withdrawing billions of pounds worth of investment from a nation facing a period of instability.

West Ham were plunged further into crisis as it was revealed that the east London club's Icelandic owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson is considering selling the club after losing £230 million in the country's own economic crash.

Abramovich's unprecedented loss will set alarm bells ringing in the football world and the City.

It comes after Chelsea chairman, Bruce Buck suggested this week that the club could sell players to survive the financial turmoil.

He said: "Even with a benefactor like Roman Abramovich, if we think revenues are going to go down a bit we have to look at our expense side to look for areas where it is appropriate for us to save money. That's actually a process we are engaged with at the moment."