Chelsea ups the ante in its battle for Axel Witsel, a midfielder playing for FC Zenit St Petersburg. Abramovich does not want to lose out to PSG, offering 48 million euro.

      Belgian Axel Witsel, 26, was signed by Zenit for a reported amount of 40 million euro in September 2012.

      He has scored 15 goals in 116 appearances for Zenit.

      Back in 2012, his arrival along with Brazilian forward Hulk had a negative impact on the team. All in all, Gazprom splurged 100 million euro on the two players. Hulk’s salary was reported to be higher than those of Zenit’s old-timers like Shirokov, Denisov and Kerzhakov. After Denisov demanded a pay rise, he was grounded. Shirokov was loaned out to Krasnodar. Among other players who had a rough time are midfielder Vladimir Bystrov who plays in Anzhi Makhachkala on loan, defender Alexander Anyukov, replaced by Igor Smolnikov, and goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeyev, replaced by Yury Lodygin.

      FC Zenit St. Petersburg is the only Eastern European team to be included in the annual list of the world's most valuable football brands. Zenit is also the first Russian club ever included in the list published by the Brand Finance agency. Its brand value is estimated at $56 million, which gives Zenit St. Petersburg the 41st place in the rankings.