The Raine Group, who had been employed by Roman Abramovich to manage the sale of Chelsea FC, have felt 'deterred to announce the Todd Boehly preferred bidder status as they remain 'open' to Jim Ratcliffe's eleventh-hour offer.
Boehly and co in his consortium funded by Clearlake Capital are currently in a period of exclusivity regarding talks directly with Abramovich to try and seal a deal by May 31 but if there were to be problems, there would be nothing to stop the Russian oligarch from turning to the current Nice owner or either one of Stephen Pagliuca and Sir Martin Broughton's groups, who he had previously rejected in the previous round to try and get a deal done amid constant pressures by the UK Government to do so.
Therefore it really still is anyone's game but this mission impossible type of scenario that Ratcliffe has on his hands currently means that he needs many things to go his way before his opportunity to pounce comes around - if it even does come around is another question at this stage. But if it does present itself, the richest man in Britain has already made his intentions clear as to what supporters can expect under his guidance as outlined in his and INEOS' joint statement released after the news broke that his own £4.25billion bid was lodged to Bruce Buck and Abramovich directly.
READ MORE: Chelsea sale: What Jim Ratcliffe is doing to try and convince Roman Abramovich to agree on deal
Their 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 investing 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 a 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 the 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. 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 business. The club is rooted in its community and its fans. And it is our intention to invest in Chelsea FC for that reason. No further comment will be made from Sir Jim or INEOS during the bidding process."
Despite Simon Jordan's critical view on Ratcliffe who he labelled a 'disruptor' coupled with the Raine Group's initial annoyance that he bypassed them when making his intentions known late on, it seems as though the American bank have done a slight 180 turn on their initial hard stance that they had of the Brit's bid. This is because as GOAL have reported, Ratcliffe's bid has 'deterred' Raine from making an official announcement on the process to date with it being touted around that this bank holiday Monday was supposed to be when the fans would hear more about what's happening.
The report also goes on to say that the group hired by Abramovich to go out and conduct this process on his behalf whilst he has more pressing issues to deal with currently are still keeping their 'options open' until official documentation is signed on behalf of Boehly and Clearlake.
Chelsea fans - do you think there will be any more late twists and turns in this race or will Boehly definitely be the one to be Abramovich's eventual successor after his rather controversial but successful 19 years stewardship of the club? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
