Roman Abramovich and wife Dasha Zhukova to separate

Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire and owner of Chelsea Football Club, has announced he and his wife will separate.

Mr Abramovich, who is Jewish, and Dasha Zhukova, an art collector and gallery director, met in 2005 before marrying in 2008. They are parents to two children.

A joint statement released this week read: “After 10 years, the two of us have made the difficult decision to separate, but we remain close friends, parents, and partners in the projects we developed together.”

The 50-year-old businessman’s wealth was estimated at about £7 billion by Forbes this year, making him the 139^th richest person in the world.