Roman Abramovich ended his last marriage with a reputed settlement of £150m (€165m) – small change for a multibillionaire.

This time, the Russian oligarch and owner of Chelsea FC may not be so lucky, after announcing he has separated from his third wife, Dasha Zhukova.

The couple, who married in 2008 and have two children, said the split was amicable, but could get embroiled in the world’s costliest divorce if forced to untangle the tycoon’s €7.7bn fortune. Mr Abramovich (50) owns the football club, the second largest yacht in the world and several luxury properties, including a €66m mansion in New York and a €55m property in Kensington Palace Gardens, London.

Among his fleet of supercars is a Ferrari FXX prototype worth around €1.6m and a Bugatti Veyron, priced at €2.2m.

However, Ms Zhukova, an art collector who is 15 years his junior, is the independently wealthy daughter of a Russian oil magnate and may not have any desire to pursue her husband for money.

In a joint statement, the couple said: “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.”

Legal experts said they expect Mr Abramovich to have a prenuptial agreement in place and any divorce proceedings would be dealt with by a Russian court in order to protect his assets, much like his previous divorce, when he is understood to have ended his 16-year marriage to second wife Irina Vyacheslavovna Malandina at a cost of €165m in Moscow in 2007.

Irish Independent