Todd Boehly's main competitor to become Roman Abramovich's successor, Jim Ratcliffe, aims to convince the Russian oligarch to agree upon a deal with him and snub the American consortium by promising one thing in particular.
The movie Mission Impossible probably sums up just how much the current Nice owner has to do if he was to eventually win the process of becoming the new king of Stamford Bridge. His late and unexpected bid which went in without the Raine Group knowing had the potential to prolong this process more but the club's decision to hold exclusive talks with the part-LA Dodgers owner Boehly indicated that the end is near. Perhaps, Ratcliffe himself doesn't believe this to be the case and his £4.25billion bid at the eleventh hour is evidence that the race is not yet fully ran in his mind.
Their statement read: "Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS, has made a formal bid for Chelsea FC, for £4.25bn. £2.5bn is committed to the charitable trust to support victims of the war, with £1.75bn committed to investing directly into the club over the next 10 years. This is a British bid, for a British club. We believe that a club is bigger than its owners, who are temporary custodians of a great tradition, With a responsibility to the fans and the community. That is why we are committing to spending £1.75bn over 10 years that will be for the direct benefit of the club. We will invest in Stamford Bridge to make it a world-class stadium, befitting of Chelsea FC. This will be organic and ongoing so that we will not move away from the home of Chelsea and risk losing the support of loyal fans.
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"We will continue to invest in the team to ensure we have a first-class squad of the world's greatest players, coaches and support staff, in the men's and women's games. And we hope to continue to invest in the academy to provide the opportunity for talented youngsters to develop into first-class players. We believe that London should have a club that reflects the stature of the city. One that is held in the same regard as Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich. We intend Chelsea to be that club. We are making this investment as fans of the beautiful game – not as a means to turn a profit. We do that with our core business. The club is rooted in its community and its fans. And it is our intention to invest in Chelsea FC for that reason. No further comment will be made from Sir Jim or INEOS during the bidding process."
Despite all the odds being stacked against Boehly's new main competitor having fended off the challenges of the consortiums run by Stephen Pagliuca and Sir Martin Broughton, the well known Man United fan is seemingly still trying to do all he can to complete an unexpected deal for the current European and World Champions. Just like all the others in the process, as per GOAL's Nizaar Kinsella, Ratcliffe is aiming to meet various supporter groups this week in the form of the Chelsea Supporters Trust and Chelsea Pitch Owners to try and get their support and approval of his own takeover plans.
The CST have already revealed these initial talks: “While the CST has had initial talks with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his team, no further meeting is yet in the diary.”
Of course, Boehly has already done this as well as attending a few matches in-person to signal his proper intent but Ratcliffe now faces a massive race against time to try and make a comeback in this race that not many people expect to happen, especially because the UK Government want this deal all wrapped up by the end of May in order to comply with the special Sporting License placed on the club when Abramovich's sanctions were handed out in what feels an eternity ago now.
