British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe makes late bid to buy Chelsea

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has tabled a last-minute £4.25billion bid to buy Chelsea, putting the British billionaire right in the running to take the Stamford Bridge helm.

The Ineos boss is understood to have held talks with Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck on Thursday, and submitted what now represents the biggest offer for the Premier League club on Friday.

The 69-year-old explored in detail a possible bid for the Blues back in 2019, only to buy French club Nice instead.

Ratcliffe’s previous due diligence on Chelsea will expedite the process of his bid, minimising any delays in the sale process headed up by New York merchant bank the Raine Group.

An Ineos 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 investment 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 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.

“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