May 2 – The UK’s richest man has made a late entry to the bidding for Chelsea football club, making an offer of £4.25 billion on Friday, believed to be largest commitment to buying the club than either of the two remaining bidders.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of Ineos, issued a statement announcing his bid, saying: “This is a British bid, for a British club.”
Ratcliffe has shown interest in Chelsea before. In 2019 he was in talks with Roman Abramovich before the talks broke down and he bought Ligue1 side Nice.
In his statement Ratcliffe say that £2.5 billion will go to the charitable trust to support victims of the Ukraine war, while a further £1.75 billion will be invested in the club over the next 10 years, and will include the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge.
Ratcliffe’s bid is different from his competitors for the club as he is not part of a consortium.
He is also not motivated by making money from the club, instead saying: “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 businesses. The club is rooted in its community and its fans. And it is our intention to invest in Chelsea FC for that reason.
Ratcliffe is up against two remaining consortiums for control of the club, both have strong US investment in their bids.
Boston Celtics part owner Stephen Pagliuca, who also owns Serie A’s Atalanta, was ruled out of the running having being told he was not the preferred bidder. That left a bid led by Sir Martin Broughton, the former Liverpool and British Airways chairman, and which includes the billionaire Crystal Palace shareholders Dave Blitzer and Josh Harris, and LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly whose bid has the backing of US investment firm Clearlake Capital.
In its statement Ineos said it would 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 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.”
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