Roman Abramovich, the owner of English soccer club Chelsea, has seen the beginnings of a recovery from the global financial crisis, with his wealth increasing by some £800 million in the past 10 months according to a study.

FourFourTwo magazine's annual Football Rich List found the Chelsea owner has a personal fortune of £7.8 billion, compared to £7 billion last year. The number is still significantly lower than Abramovich has been worth in the past, but, having made more in the past ten months than he has invested in Chelsea in his six years at the club, rumours that financing the team has been an issue for him appear to have been put to bed.

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Meanwhile, should Abramovich decide to sell the club, its chairman Bruce Buck believes Chelsea would survive the decision. "I think we'd be in a reasonably good state if Mr Abramovich left," Buck told The Sun newspaper. "However, we are comfortable — the directors of Chelsea Football Club are comfortable — that he is here for the long haul. Every year we're required to look at that. We're comfortable and we don't see it as an issue at all."