Boston Celtics owner Stephen Pagliuca won't be the next owner of Chelsea, according to reports.
As per the Evening Standard, with prospective bidders making their final pitches this week, the American flew in for talks with the club on Thursday, but he's now been told that he won't be presented to the Treasury as a preferred bidder.
The news comes in the wake of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's late bid to buy the club. The £4 billion move comes just as it seemed a decision would be reached soon on which of the three other contenders would be handed the reins at Stamford Bridge.
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Consortiums led by Pagliuca; Todd Boehly; and Sir Martin Broughton looked set to be the only options on the table for Chelsea and Raine, the bank advising the club on the takeover, but that no longer seems to be the case.
The move comes just a day after Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries, sent a warning to Chelsea to speed up the process, saying that they were on borrowed time. Speaking on the BBC's Newscast podcast, she said: "Chelsea is very much on borrowed time at the moment. There is a very short window left for that sale to take place. It has to happen soon."
Nevertheless, football.london understands that Boehly's consortium are now the preferred bidders, with Ratcliffe's late bid expected to snubbed.
It looks as though we are edging closer to finding out who will takeover the reins from Roman Abramovich, which is ideal for the club heading into the final few games of the season.
