Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich became a father for the seventh time when his girlfriend gave birth to a daughter in a New York hospital.

Abramovich's socialite girlfriend Dasha Zhukova gave birth to their daughter Leah Lou, her second child with the Russian tycoon. In December 2009, she gave birth to their first child, Aaron Alexander Abramovich, a few years after the couple met each other in a New Year's eve party hosted by her father in 2006.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and Dasha Zhukova
Dasha Zhukova (left) and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich Reuters

An insider confirmed that Abramovich was physically present by his girlfriend's bedside at the time of the baby's delivery. "Mother and daughter are doing fine. Roman is, of course, delighted," the source added.

The couple spent majority of their winter in the Caribbean islands. The 31-year-old socialite was spotted in a chopper, along with his beau Abramovich, which was heading to the $300m luxury yacht Eclipse docked in St. Barts in the Caribbean Islands. It was during her stay in St. Barts that it was revealed that she was pregnant with her second child. A source close to the family had confirmed of Dasha's delivery was due in spring 2013.

Eclipse, the largest yacht in the world, has been docked near midtown Manhattan for the past two months. Dock workers said the yacht was expected to remain there till mid-April, raising speculation that Abramovich's girlfriend was due to deliver her child around then.

Abramovich, ranked by Forbes magazine as the 50<sup>th richest person in the world, already has five children, two sons and three daughters with his second wife Irina Malandina. His 16-year long marriage with Irina was finally ended in 2007 amidst rumours of his romance with Dasha. The settlement amount for divorce with Irina reportedly cost him $300 million (roughly £196mn).

His first marriage with Olga Lysova lasted four years, ending in divorce in 1990.

Dasha, daughter of Russian oligarch Alexander Radkin Zhukov, previously dated former world number one Russian tennis player Marat Safin. She split up with Safin in 2005.

New York