EX-CHELSEA scout Piet de Visser says billionaire Roman abramovich helped him after he was on the'brink of death.'

Russian owner Abramovich has put Chelsea up for sale after 19-years of ownership due to his questionable ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The 55-year-old wants an offer of £3billion to sanction a sale, having bought the club for £140million back in 2003.

And the situation is a 'hard blow' for the club, according to ex-scout De Visser.

The 87-year-old, who discovered the likes of Neymar, Kevin De Bruyne and Ronaldo, says Abramovich saved his life after he thought he'd be forced to retire due to a heart surgery.

He told Algemeen Dagblad: "I remember well that I had just had open heart surgery and subsequently had esophageal cancer.

"I got over it but I was a dead bird. So I called Roman to tell him that I unfortunately had to retire as a scout.

"I will never forget what he told me: 'Piet, you can sign a contract for ten or twenty years.'

:You are on the verge of death and they tell you that they want to extend your contract for another ten or twenty years.

"Knowing that you mean a lot to someone gave me a lot of strength.

"Not to mention all those months that allowed me to recover on his boat and in his hotel. I dare to say that Roman saved my life."

De Visser also wanted to go on record and tell the world 'who the real Roman is' as people 'have a wrong image of him.'

He continued: "This is a hard blow because he is a very important person for the club. People have a wrong image of him.

"He is not based on money, he has a lot. That is an essential difference. He is a warm person.

"It will bother me because I talk about him in the press, and I will gladly accept his anger. But I want to clarify who the real Roman is.

"Because Roman himself never speaks to the press, many see him as cold and that hurts me a lot because he is not.

"Hence my need to defend him. The truth is that he has a big heart and the fact that the money of the sale of the club benefiting the victims of the war in Ukraine is an unequivocal signal".