Chelsea pause new stadium project over 'unfavourable investment climate'

FA Cup winners Chelsea were poised to move into Wembley while work was carried out on Stamford Bridge, but the project is now on hold.

Chelsea's Stamford Bridge redevelopment has been paused due to the "unfavourable investment climate", the Premier League side have confirmed.

The FA Cup winners were due to spend a reported £1billion on an ambitious plan to rebuild their west London home and increase its capacity.

Chelsea planned to bring Stamford Bridge's capacity up to 60,000, in line with London rivals Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham.

But the club confirmed in a brief statement on Thursday that the project is being shelved.

"Chelsea Football Club announces today that it has put its new stadium project on hold," it read. "No further pre-construction design and planning work will occur.

"The club does not have a time frame set for reconsideration of its decision. The decision was made due to the current unfavourable investment climate."

The news comes amid reports Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has successfully applied to become an Israeli citizen after his British visa expired and there were delays in issuing a new one.