Murdoch offers his troubled UK newspaper chain to Chelsea boss Abramovich

London, Mar 21 (ANI): Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has reportedly asked Russian billionaire and owner of Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich, if he would like to buy his embattled British newspaper group.

According to The Telegraph, Murdoch, who seems to be thinking that his newspapers are now proving a lot more trouble than they are worth, asked Abramovich whether he would be interested in acquiring his whole stable from The Sun to The Times.

Abramovich politely heard Murdoch out, but chose not to take things forward, the report said.

Spokesmen for Murdoch and Abramovich vehemently denied the story.

According to the paper, there exists a precedent in wealthy Russians acquiring newspapers, with Alexander and Evgeny Lebedev's purchase of The Independent titles and the London Evening Standard freesheet.

Murdoch, Chairman and CEO of News Corporation, is a pauper compared with Abramovich.

The Russian tycoon is the 68th richest person in the world, according to the 2012 Forbes list, with an estimated fortune of 12.1billion dollars.

Forbes has placed Murdoch at 117th place, with a net worth of 7.6 billion dollars. (ANI)