British businessman Jim Ratcliffe has made a £4.25 billion bid to buy Chelsea.
Ratcliffe, 69, is the founder of British chemical company INEOS, which sponsors Team INEOS’ cycling team. Moreover, the company operates in several sports fields. In 2017, he bought the Swiss club Lausanne Sport, and two years later he advanced to the acquisition of the French club Nice. The following year, he acquired 33% of Mercedes from Formula 1.
“This is a British bid for a British club,” read a statement this Friday from Ineos, citing BBC.
“We will invest in Stamford Bridge to make it a world-class stadium befitting Chelsea. It will be something ongoing so that we do not stray from Chelsea’s home and risk losing the support of loyal fans.”
“We will continue to invest in the team to ensure we have a global team of the best players, coaches and staff in the world, male and female. We look forward to continuing to invest in training to provide opportunities for talented young people to become world-class players.”
The company also stated that “London should have a club that reflects the status of the city” and can be compared to “Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich”.
“We are making this investment as fans of the beauty of the game, not as a way to make a profit. The club is rooted in its community and its supporters. We intend to invest in Chelsea for this reason.”
Thus Ratcliffe joins three others interested in buying blues: a consortium led by British Airways Chairman Martin Bruton, and which includes billionaire Crystal Palace shareholders Dave Pletzer and Josh Harris; Todd Boyle, co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, backed by Clearlake Capital, a US investment firm; Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca.
It is noteworthy that Roman Abramovich put the club up for sale after the sanctions because of his proximity to Vladimir Putin after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea continues to operate under various restrictions, thanks to a special license that expires on May 31.
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