Ineos owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has confirmed he has made a late bid to buy Chelsea. 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.
Consortiums led by Todd Boehly; Stephen Pagliuca; 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."
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Despite being known as a Manchester United fan, Ratcliffe's interest in buying Chelsea has always been apparent. Back in 2019, at a time when he was Britain's third richest man with an estimated net worth of around £21.05bn, he told BBC Sport: "You never say no [to whether I will try to buy Chelsea], but I don't know where those conversations will finish."
But it appears as though his bid will fall short. football.london understands that Boehly's consortium are now the preferred bidders, with Ratcliffe's late offer expected to be 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.
