British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made a late push to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich by tabling an offer worth £4.25billion.
Abramovich is looking to sell Chelsea in the near future after sanctions were imposed on him by the British government. Three bidders were in the frame earlier this month, including two from America and one from the UK.
But they could be usurped by Ratcliffe after he made a late play to purchase last season’s Champions League winners.
The £4.25bn he is proposing to pay would see £1.75bn go into the club over the next 10 years, according to BBC Sport.
The rest, totalling £2.5bn, will go to charitable organisations to help the victims of the war on Ukraine.
Ratcliffe is the owner of chemicals company Ineos. He started it in 1998 and it is now the fourth largest chemical company in the world.
Ineos revealed their intention to purchase Chelsea in a statement. It included an exciting promise to improve Stamford Bridge – making the stadium ‘world-class’.
“This is a British bid, for a British club,” the statement read. “We will invest in Stamford Bridge to make it a world-class stadium, befitting of Chelsea FC.
Ineos make Chelsea fan pledge
“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.
“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 opportunity for talented youngsters to develop into first class players.”
Ineos added: “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.
“The club is rooted in…