- Three Kosovo Serbs on trial over 'secession plot' attack
- Van Gogh museum to launch Impressionism show
- French minister ups ante in Eiffel Tower Olympic rings row
- Japan PM calls snap election to 'create a new Japan'
- German police shut pro-Palestinian camp over Thunberg invite
- Chinese stocks tumble on lack of fresh stimulus
- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- SE Asian summit urges end to Myanmar violence but struggles for solutions
- Wimbledon replaces line judges with electronic system
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England power to 351-3
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England's power to 351-3
- Sabalenka relishes 'much-needed' tennis rivalry with Swiatek
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson set for six weeks out
- Taylor Swift got police escort to London gigs after Austria terror plot
- Cook tips Root to break Tendulkar's all-time runs record
- British skull auction sparks Indian demand for return
- Joe Root: England's elegant Test record-breaker
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Hezbollah strikes Israel, says it foiled Israeli incursions
- Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarter-finals
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Record-breaking Root guides England to 232-2 in reply to Pakistan's 556
- Japan PM dissolves parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- Goodbye Tito? Tomb at risk as Serbs argue over Yugoslav legacy
- Restoration experts piece together silent Sherlock Holmes mystery
- Sinner avoids Shanghai deja vu with assured Shelton win
- Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
- Trumpet star Marsalis says jazz creates 'balance' in divided world
- No children left on Greece's famed but emptying island
- Nepali becomes youngest to climb world's 8,000m peaks
- Climate change made deadly Hurricane Helene more intense: study
- A US climate scientist sees hurricane Helene's devastation firsthand
- Padres edge Dodgers, Mets on the brink
- Can carbon credits help close coal plants?
- With EU funding, Tunisian farmer revives parched village
- Sega ninja game 'Shinobi' gets movie treatment
- Boeing suspends negotiations with striking workers
- 7-Eleven owner's shares spike on report of new buyout offer
- Your 'local everything': what 7-Eleven buyout battle means for Japan
- Three million UK children living below poverty line: study
- China's Jia brings film spanning love, change over decades to Busan
- Paying out disaster relief before climate catastrophe strikes
- Chinese shares drop on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- SE Asian summit seeks progress on Myanmar civil war
- How climate funds helped Peru's women beekeepers stay afloat
- Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded as wars rage
Tuchel says Chelsea will 'stay strong' despite Abramovich sale
Thomas Tuchel said Friday he was convinced that Chelsea "will stay a strong club" after Roman Abramovich's dramatic announcement he was selling up following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian billionaire, alleged to have close links to President Vladimir Putin, said it was in the "best interest" of the Champions League holders if he cut ties with the European champions after 19 trophy-laden years in charge.
His announcement came just before Chelsea's midweek FA Cup match at Championship side Luton, which they won 3-2.
Tuchel said the club's players and staff were briefed on the situation the following day by Petr Cech, Chelsea's technical and performance advisor.
"It does not make sense to worry too much because we don't have a lot of influence, not to say no influence at all, so that was the bottom line," he told reporters on the eve of his side's Premier League match at struggling Burnley.
"We are allowed to focus on football and do the best to focus on football."
The German was asked whether he would have a problem staying at Stamford Bridge, given the upheaval.
"I love working in the Premier League," he said. "I love to be in England and feel the tradition and the love for sports in general and football in particular. It's an amazing place to be.
"Chelsea is from my point of view a perfect fit. I love to be here, I love everything about the club and hopefully it continues. There is now an uncertainty but isn't it always as a football manager?"
Tuchel admitted the situation at Stamford could affect his players but said everybody at the club would react differently.
"I hope for the best outcome," he said. "Still I think we have something to offer. Still I think Chelsea is a strong club and will stay a strong club.
"Our owner decided to sell the club but he sells a strong, solid and a very well-organised club on the highest level."
Abramovich has not been named on a growing British sanctions list targeting Russian banks, businesses and pro-Kremlin tycoons following Putin's attack on Ukraine.
But the 55-year-old's concern about potential seizure of assets is understood to have sparked his move to off-load the Blues.
Tuchel spoke warmly about the Russian's legacy at Chelsea.
"It is exceptional, it speaks for itself," he said. "He is a very, very passionate owner who cares actually about the team, about the club, about the performance personally, which is very rare and makes it very special."
L.Davis--AMWN