Sir Jim Ratcliffe has held positive talks with the UK Government regarding the takeover of Chelsea despite having been discounted from the process by Raine Group. On Friday, the INEOS owner confirmed he made a late £4billion bid to buy the Blues.
Though on Wednesday, the British billionaire's bid was ruled out by the US banking firm who are handling the west London club's sale, according to Tom Crotty, a director at INEOS. Raine Group have been in charge of the takeover process since owner Roman Abramovich decided to sell the club in March, having been sanctioned by the UK government in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Given the due diligence the rest of the candidates have undergone throughout the process, Ratcliffe's bid threw a cat among the pigeons after submitting a bid in the dying embers. A consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly is understood to be the preferred bidder for Chelsea, though Ratcliffe has claimed he is 'not giving up' on buying the Blues, in an interview with the BBC.
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"Consideration should be given to a British bid," said Ratcliffe in his first interview since making the 11th-hour bid. "We had a communication with Raine and met with them at the end of last week. We presented a bid but have heard very little back from them.
"My message to Raine is don't discount our offer. We are British and have great intentions for Chelsea. If I was Raine I wouldn't close any door."
Ratcliffe, who made formal bid worth £4.25bn, explained why his bid was late and insisted the he won't give up. The 69-year-old said: "I think that is quite simple - it is a big decision to buy a national asset and it's a big commitment in terms of time and money.
"We're there for the long term that's a lot of responsibility to take on and it takes time to reach a decision to be fully committed. We got there at the end of the day and we are committed. We're not giving up."
Just a day after his late submission to buy Chelsea, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries sent a warning to the Blues 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."
But, since the UK Government sent Chelsea a warning, fears have arisen that Abramovich will break his promise to write off a £1.6 billion debt, according to the Times. A report last week claimed that the west London club told the UK Government - as well as bidding groups - that they want to 'restructure' the handover process, throwing a blanket of doubt over proceedings.
The reform would reportedly include 'paying off debt' from Chelsea’s parent company Fordstam Ltd to a Jersey-based company Camberley International Investments, which seems to be linked to the Russian billionaire.
