Conor McGregor has doubled down on his claim that he will look to buy a top football club in the future.
The former two-weight UFC world champion has previously angled at making an offer for his boyhood clubs Manchester United and Celtic, Mirror UK reports.
And last week he claimed he was interested in buying Chelsea after the London super-club were put up for sale by owner Roman Abramovich.
The Dubliner is unlikely to complete a deal for the Stamford Bridge side but has said: "I do not speak in jest. I am exploring this, as I said. Celtic from Dermot Desmond, Manchester United from the Glaziers, and now the recently up for sale Chelsea football club.
"All being explored. A football franchise purchase is in my future make no mistake about it.
"Everyday I ball. How wouldn’t I lead a team of young, dedicated athletes to glory. I’m perfect for the job. Pray it’s your team."
In the unlikely event McGregor does make an offer for Chelsea - which Abramovich has valued at £3billion, he would face competition from Turkish billionaire Muhsin Bayrak.
Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale on Wednesday night, in a move that will bring an end to his glittering 19-year ownership of the Stamford Bridge club.
Chelsea are understood to have already received several serious significant offers, with the team handling the sale still expecting more bids to be submitted.
And now construction, energy and technology magnate Bayrak has revealed he is among those to have lodged a bid for the Blues.
“We can definitely confirm our bid for Chelsea,” AB Group Holding general manager Seda Bayrak told the PA news agency.
“We have forwarded our offer regarding this.”
Merchant bank the Raine Group is handling the bid process for Abramovich, who has led Chelsea to 21 trophies in his near 20-year stint with the west London club.
Russia ’s continued invasion of Ukraine has forced Abramovich’s decision to sell the club, with the 55-year-old considering owning Chelsea the “privilege of my lifetime”.
The sale process is understood to be at the stage of gathering bids, with reviews only taking place once all offers are submitted.
American billionaire Todd Boehly fronts the most high-profile bid for the Blues so far, with the LA Dodgers part-owner having teamed up with Swiss magnate Hansjorg Wyss.
Turkish businessman Bayrak runs one of his countries most successful enterprises however, and remains determined to push forward with a purchase of the Blues.
“We will fly the Turkish flag in London soon,” said Muhsin Bayrak.
“We are negotiating the terms of the purchase of Chelsea with Roman Abramovich’s lawyers.
“We are in the negotiation phase for the signatures.”
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