Roman Abramovich has left the building.

If we are talking in the Elvis sense, he hasn’t been to Stamford Bridge for years – giving Britain a wide berth since its crackdown on Russians generally after the Salisbury poisonings of 2018.

But his influence, money and all-pervading presence from afar, were felt all over Chelsea FC as recently as late February.

Only when Russia invaded Ukraine did they wane and since then the collapse has been like a pack of cards.

Forced out by the UK government because of his closeness to Vladimir Putin, he was helpless as the club was bought by a US consortium after a high-profile auction. He didn’t get a penny.

And now his two most trusted lieutenants have been ushered out by the new owners after initial suggestions they’d provide “continuity”.

Chairman of 19 years, Bruce Buck, and CEO Marina Granovskaia had been with Abramovich since he made his pile under Boris Yeltsin, and if they had stayed, he still would have had eyes and ears in his beloved club.

But new head honcho Todd Boehly wanted to sweep clean so it’s a new regime in charge now.

Boehly, who is also a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers (baseball) and Lakers (basketball), is backed by the US equity company, Clearlake Capital.

Given the scale of the fall, the Blues did well to cling on to a Champions League place, taking Liverpool to two cup final shootouts and pushing Real Madrid hard in the Champions League.

But now is the time for the rebuild – on and off the field.

It took a revolution to bring Abramovich in and a war to remove him. But his legacy will last forever.

And that – the most successful era in the club’s history and of any English club in the same period – is why the Americans paid £4.25 billion for the privilege of taking over.

Abramovich’s wealth turned Chelsea from colourful cup hopefuls, with an eclectic mix of foreign stars, into a European super club.

But his impact on the game itself was even greater.

He sparked an influx of foreign billionaires to the English game as if attracted by a magnet and led to a gold rush in transfer fees and wages.

He ran the club as a fan would – fantasising about a new striker – but then going out and buying one.

But the fan would first have to win the lottery. Abramovich had already won his as the Soviet Union collapsed.

The fans now know they won’t be so lucky again. Boehly has promised to spend but not with the Russian’s wild abandon.

In recent years, he seemed to lose his touch in the transfer market. Either he was a little too distant or Granovskaia’s instinct let her down.

But he didn’t get much bang for his £400m splurge on Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Cristian Pulisic and Hakim Zyech.

All good players, they just haven’t blended in and the signings were scattergun at best.

And before that there was the £72m on Kepa Arrizabalaga who is now the reserve keeper best known for saving penalties.

None of these were Thomas Tuchel signings but now the manager has the chance to assert his authority in the market and get the players he wants.

Indeed, he could emerge as a supermanager rather like Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. But he has a bit of reshuffling to do first.

Chelsea allowed the contracts of centre-backs Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen to run down and both have departed for free.

Unable to replace them due to the restrictions the club operated under for the last four months, Tuchel now has two sizable holes to fill in defence.

And midfielders N’Golo Kante and Jorginho reach the end of their contracts in 2023 so one or both may have to be replaced.

He will be helped by appearing to have established a rapport with Boehly who has been rather more hands-on than was expected of a corporate raider from across the Atlantic.

The American has even appointed himself as sporting director until a permanent one can be found.

Michael Edwards, who recently left Liverpool after being credited with most of the successful signings of the Klopp era, has been mentioned and that would certainly be a feather in Boehly’s cap.

And with both Manchester City and Liverpool already setting the pace in the transfer window with two high-profile strikers, Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez respectively, Chelsea’s need for reinforcements is becoming chronic.

Boehly recognised this by letting Lukaku return to Inter for a token loan fee without haggling so as not to burden his manager with a distracting saga.

And in the highly mobile Raheem Sterling, it looks as if Tuchel knows who he wants to replace the departed Belgian.

You can already see the England striker fitting in better with fellow speed merchants around him.

Another backroom man to wonder about his future is Petr Cech, the technical and performance director.

An Abramovich favourite, he discovered Edouard Mendy as a top-class keeper but has had no similar coup since.

If City and Liverpool are uncatchable, Chelsea must hang on to a Champions League slot at all costs.

The biggest threat will probably come from Spurs, who are already strengthening under Antonio Conte, then Arsenal and Manchester United.

In Tuchel, the Blues have a manager who is often called the third best in the world behind the untouchable duo.

Now with the sword of Damocles removed – Abramovich was nothing if not ruthless with managers – he has a chance to really deliver.

Meanwhile, stadium development on a small and squeezed footprint could be even more daunting for the owners. It even eluded Abramovich.

All in all, the rebuilding of the old Roman empire is not impossible but it will be done in a more measured way and take a lot longer.

Chelsea fans should be grateful if it can be done at all.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.