Why I submitted 4.2BILLION offer to buy Chelsea after deadline – British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe finally reveals
Ineos founder and controlling shareholder Ratcliffe submitted a late offer of £4.25 billion hours before Boehly was chosen as the preferred purchase.
Raine, on the other side, has extended exclusivity to LA Dodgers co-owner Boehly’s consortium in order to clinch a deal.
Ratcliffe, on the other hand, believes that a British football club should be owned by British citizens and has asked Raine to rethink, noting that he has already held ‘good negotiations’ with the UK government about acquiring Chelsea.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe was questioned why it took him so long to reveal his bid for Chelsea in an interview with BBC Sport.
“I believe it’s fairly clear,” Ratcliffe said, “it’s a significant decision to buy a national asset, and it’s a big commitment in terms of time and money.”
“We’re in it for the long haul, which means we’re taking on a lot of responsibility and it takes time to make a decision to completely commit.
“We arrived at the end of the day and have made our commitment. We’re not going down without a fight.
“Raine was contacted and we met with them towards the end of last week. We submitted a bid but have received no response from them “Added he.
“Don’t dismiss our offer, is my message to Raine. We are British, and we have high hopes for Chelsea. I wouldn’t close any doors if I were Raine.”
Ratcliffe appears to have greatly upped his media presence in order to rally support for his proposal, which was described as the “sole British bid for Chelsea” in the announcement.
However, it looks that valuable time has been lost as well. Todd Boehly’s team has already been chosen as the preferred bidder by Raine Group.