Chelsea are entering one of the most uncertain periods in their entire history.
With confirmation this week that the UK Government would be placing sanctions upon their owner, Roman Abramovich, Blues fans are anxiously awaiting clarity on what this will mean for the future of the club.
With Stamford Bridge poised to be half-full in the coming weeks and players who are out of contract in the summer set to leave, the west London club could experience all manner of unique scenarios in 2022.
Uncertain times for Chelsea
Truth be told, it's a complicated subject at which a number of financial and moral conversations lay at the heart, but it's nevertheless one that has made Chelsea fans take a stock check of how the club is shaping up now.
Besides, even if the supporters leave the more legal and political aspects of the predicament down to those in the boardroom, they certainly have one eye on what everything could mean for Chelsea on the pitch.
And there's certainly plenty at stake for the world and European champions because they just happen to have one of the most valuable men's first-team squads in the beautiful game.
The most valuable squads in the world
In fact, according to the data gurus at Transfermarkt, who calculate the market value of every major player in the sport, Chelsea have the fourth-most valuable team in world football.
With world-class stars such as Edouard Mendy, Antonio Rudiger and Romelu Lukaku inevitably valued at eye-watering fees, Chelsea's first-team squad comes together for a total valuation of €883.00 million (£739m).
And to put those dizzying numbers into perspective, you can check out Transfermarkt's ranking of the 30 most valuable football clubs in the men's game by their playing staff down below:
30. Wolverhampton Wanderers - €338.50 million
Soccer Football - Premier League - Brentford v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Brentford Community Stadium, London, Britain - January 22, 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers' Ruben Neves celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Hannah Mckay EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
29. West Ham United - €350.75 million
28. AS Monaco - €352.20 million
27. Villarreal - €362.00 million
26. Ajax - €363.80 million
25. Atalanta - €379.90 million
Soccer Football - Serie A - Napoli v Atalanta - Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy - December 4, 2021 Atalanta's Ruslan Malinovskyi celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
24. AS Roma - €390.65 million
23. Real Sociedad - €395.40 million
22. Bayer Leverkusen - €417.45 million
21. Sevilla - €424.90 million
20. Aston Villa - €426.50 million
Soccer Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Leeds United - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - February 9, 2022 Aston Villa's Philippe Coutinho celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates Action Images via Reuters/Molly Darlington EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
19. Everton - €453.75 million
18. RB Leipzig - €454.00 million
17. AC Milan - €466.60 million
16. Napoli - €505.85 million
15. Arsenal - €511.00 million
Soccer Football - Premier League - Arsenal v Manchester City - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - January 1, 2022 Arsenal's Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates REUTERS/Ian Walton EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
14. Leicester City - €513.80 million
13. Inter Milan - €550.90 million
12. Juventus - €566.40 million
11. Borussia Dortmund - €576.30 million
10. Tottenham Hotspur - €580.25 million
Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - February 19, 2022 Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane celebrates scoring their third goal before it is ruled out following a VAR review Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
9. Atletico Madrid - €646.50 million
8. Barcelona - €651.00 million
7. Real Madrid - €780.00 million
6. Manchester United - €790.25 million
5. Bayern Munich - €815.25 million
Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Bayern Munich v SC Freiburg - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - November 6, 2021 Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski celebrates scoring their second goal with Alphonso Davies, Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane REUTERS/Lukas Barth DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO.
4. Chelsea - €883.00 million
3. Liverpool - €889.00 million
2. Paris Saint-Germain - €909.55 million
- Manchester City - €977.30 million
Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 First Leg - Sporting CP v Manchester City - Estadio Jose Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal - February 15, 2022 Manchester City's Bernardo Silva celebrates scoring their fifth goal with Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez before it is disallowed after a VAR review Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine
What now for Chelsea?
You only have to look at the fact that Chelsea have a more valuable squad than European giants such as United, Barcelona and Real Madrid to get an idea about the high stakes here.
It obviously goes without saying that footballing matters like these are ultimately immaterial compared to infinitely more important political, social and humanitarian factors at play here.
Nevertheless, taking note of Chelsea's first-team squad and its worth still serves as a yard stick of where the club stands amongst the final throes of the Abramovich era as it accelerates towards an uncertain future.
Soccer Football - Champions League Final - Manchester City v Chelsea - Estadio do Dragao, Porto, Portugal - May 29, 2021 Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta celebrates with the trophy and owner Roman Abramovich after winning the Champions League Pool via REUTERS/Michael Steele
Only time will tell whether the next steps in Chelsea's reorganisation will see the composition of the men's team cheered on by millions around the world change, and to what extent or cost.
At this stage, it's almost impossible to know, but it seems inescapable now that major changes are on the horizon for Chelsea. We can only hope that it's all for the greater good.