Jim Ratcliffe, Todd Boehly’s major rival for the position of Roman Abramovich’s heir, hopes to persuade the Russian tycoon to sign a contract with him and ignore the American consortium by offering one item in particular.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The film Mission Impossible best describes how much work the current Nice owner must put in if he is to succeed in becoming the new king of Stamford Bridge. His late and unexpected proposal, which was made without the Raine Group’s knowledge, had the potential to drag out the process even longer, but the club’s decision to hold exclusive discussions with part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boehly, signaled that the conclusion is near. Perhaps Ratcliffe does not think this, and his £4.25 billion proposal at the eleventh hour is proof that the race has not yet been completed in his opinion.
“Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS, has submitted a formal bid for Chelsea FC for £4.25 billion,” the announcement stated. £2.5 billion is set aside for a charitable fund to help war victims, with £1.75 billion set aside for direct investment in the club over the following ten years. This is a bid from the United Kingdom for a British club. We think that a club is more than its owners, who are only temporary guardians of a great history who have a responsibility to the fans and the community. That is why we have committed to spending £1.75 billion over ten years for the club’s immediate benefit. We will invest in Stamford Bridge in order to transform it into a world-class venue worthy of Chelsea FC. This will be organic and continuing in order to avoid moving away from Chelsea’s home and risk losing the support of devoted fans. In both the men’s and women’s games, we will continue to invest in the team to guarantee that we have a first-class roster comprising the world’s best players, coaches, and support personnel. We also intend to continue to invest in the academy in order to offer promising youths with the opportunity to grow into first-class players. We feel that London should have a club that is worthy of the city’s grandeur. One that is respected in the same way as Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich are. Chelsea is the club we want to be. This is an investment we are making as fans of the beautiful game, not as a way to make money. That is what we do in our primary business. The club is well embedded in the community and its supporters. And it is for this reason that we intend to invest in Chelsea FC. During the bidding process, neither Sir Jim nor INEOS would make any additional comments.”
Despite the fact that all the odds are stacked against Boehly’s new main competitor, having fended off the challenges of Stephen Pagliuca and Sir Martin Broughton’s consortiums, the well-known Man United fan appears to be doing everything he can to complete an unexpected deal for the current European and World Champions. Ratcliffe, like the others in the process, is meeting with several supporter organizations this week, including the Chelsea Supporters Trust and Chelsea Pitch Owners, to attempt to get their support and approval of his own takeover plans, according to GOAL’s Nizaar Kinsella.
These preliminary discussions have already been revealed by the CST: “While the CST has had preliminary discussions with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his team, no more meetings have been scheduled.”
Of course, Boehly has already done this, as well as attending a few games in person to signal his true intentions, but Ratcliffe now faces a massive race against time to try and make a comeback in this race that few expect to happen, especially because the UK Government wants this deal completed by the end of May in order to comply with the special Sporting License placed on the club when Abramovich’s sanctions were handed down in what feels like an eternity ago.
Interestingly, Sir Jim Ratcliffe hasn't gone away since Todd Boehly's consortium was selected for exclusive talks to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.
The Monaco based British billionaire is progressing his bid by trying to talk to fan groups this week. #CFC
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) May 3, 2022
