Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich splits from third wife Dasha Zhukova

The couple, who have two children together, married in a private ceremony in 2008

Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich (R) has split from his third wife Dasha Zhukova (L) after nine years of marriage. Credit: AFP PHOTO / Ben STANSALL

Russian billionaire and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich has split from his third wife, Dasha Zhukova.

Mr Abramovich, who is worth a reported £6.4 billion (Dh30.6bn) according to the Sunday Times, married Ms Zhukova, an art collector, in a private ceremony in 2008.

The couple have two children, a son Aaron Alexander born in December 2009 and a daughter Leah Lou, born in April 2013.

They confirmed the news in a joint statement to news site Page Six, writing: “After 10 years together, 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.

“We are committed to jointly raising our two children.

"We will also continue to work together as co-founders of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow and the New Holland Island cultural center in Saint Petersburg.”

Ms Zukhova, 36, who is the daughter of a wealthy Russian oil magnate, was first pictured with Mr Abramovich, 50, in 2005 at a Chelsea v Barcelona game.

The oligarch was at the time still married to his second wife, Irina Vyacheslavovna Malandina, with whom he has five children.

Ms Maladina married the businessman in 1991, before he made his fortune and they divorced in Russia in 2007.

Abramovich's second wife was reported to have accepted a settlement worth £150m, although had she gone through the British legal system she could have been entitled to half of his wealth, estimated to be £5.5bn at the time.

Abramovich's first wife was Olga Yurevna Lysova, who he was married to between 1987 and 1990.