Rio Ferdinand believes Chelsea will face a mass player departure unless the club's ownership situation is resolved quickly.
Rio Ferdinand is concerned that Chelsea will lose a number of key players (Picture)
The Premier League's behemoths are at a standstill after the UK Government sanctioned Roman Abramovich, who is now unable to complete the rapid sale he intended.
Chelsea are unable to discuss new contracts or resolve the fates of players who have been seeking salary hikes or are nearing the end of their present contracts since their main sources of money have been cut off.
Man City and Real Madrid are both interested in signing Reece James. (Photo courtesy of Getty)
Manchester City and Real Madrid, according to reports on Friday, are already circling with interest in Reece James, whom Pep Guardiola is believed to see as a long-term successor to Kyle Walker.
'If you take that back to the players, that ambiguity leads to worry, panic, and not knowing is always the worst case scenario,' Ferdinand told BT Sport.
'There will be players coming out of contracts who will say, 'There's no way I'm staying.'
'That could be a catalyst for a mass exodus of players who are saying, 'We're potentially losing our best players, we could've re-signed them, but now they've gone, I can't commit to this, I want three or five years of certainty instead of looking at this and thinking, 'What if this goes to litigation in the next few years, where do we sit with it all?'
'There are so many questions and changing components in that circumstance that it's difficult to truly want to commit to it.'
Chelsea return to action against Newcastle tomorrow afternoon, and manager Thomas Tuchel believes it's natural if any of his players are 'frightened' by the current circumstances.
'Some players will be unsure,' he predicted. 'It's possible that some people will feel scared. Some people will be worried. It's perfectly natural.
'It isn't just the players,' Tuchel continued. 'There are a lot of people on the staff and in the club who are anxious, scared, and uncertain.'
'That is why it is critical that we maintain our trust and belief in the training center, as well as in each other.' We had nothing to do with the situation.'
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