For almost two weeks, there was almost complete silence in the UK public regarding the announced sale of Chelsea, as the shortlisted candidates prepare final offers to meet a number of rigorous requirements and submit them to the Raine Bank before the deadline. While all bidders were looking for new allies and additional sources of money to present the most competitive plan for further development of Chelsea, a real shock happened on Friday afternoon – the richest Briton Jim Ratcliffe submitted an official offer worth a staggering five billion USD to buy the club!To make the situation completely clear, Ratcliffe did it almost two weeks after the deadline for revising the bids of the four remaining candidates expired, which undoubtedly raised many eyebrows. Mostly because the Raine Bank, the British authorities and the Chelsea Board of Directors were allegedly close to the decision to choose one of the four buyers whose plans stood out from the crowd in the first round.Sun 16:00: (5.10) Everton (3.60) Chelsea (1.84)Confirmations are coming from several sides that brothers Ratcliffe, Jim and Bob, owners of the multinational chemical company INEOS, have submitted a detailed offer that meets all strict requirements and standards, which could turn the whole process upside down and definitely extend the time needed to make a final decision.Jim Ratcliffe was in contact with Chelsea in the first days when it became clear that Roman Abramovich will sell the club, but he quickly gave up because he thought that the value of the club was not four billion euros, as much as the Russian oligarch is asking for. More than a month later, Sir Ratcliffe has publicly confirmed that he is involved in the game and that he is ready to go all the way.”We submitted the offer this morning and we are the only Britons who are ready to buy Chelsea. Our motives are clear and simple, because we want to create even better Chelsea. We have no motive to go for a net profit because we make money in a different way,” Jim Ratcliffe said in an interview with The Times.Hey, boy, you’re a good player. Here’s $47 million for you!Jim’s brother Bob also spoke about this topic for the French media and revealed a very clear intention to get hold of Chelsea …”Chelsea is a club to my liking. I have lived in London longer than anywhere else in the world, I have a season ticket to Chelsea, although I don’t go to the stadium often these days due to business commitments. Chelsea have become a serious football corporation, and the seriousness of the work at the level of the Premier League is felt most in the clubs from London.”Jim Ratcliffe’s statement that their offer is “the only British one” is partly true, because they are the only Brits among potential buyers. There is Martin Broughton with his business partner Sir Sebastian Coe as a British tandem, but who also has a background in foreign capital. A consortium of American businessman Todd Boehly also has a strong offer, and there are also Boston Celtics owner Stephen Pagliuca and the controversial American Ricketts family…The offer of the Ratcliffs, worth almost five billion USD, is not exclusively related to the purchase of the club, but is defined in several parts. In part, it looks like this – three billion euros would go to take over Chelsea, with almost two billion for the complete renovation of Stamford Bridge! And not only that, in the basic documentation with the presented plans for further development of the club, the Ratcliffs expressed their belief that in the near future they will allocate at least another billion euros for the complete renovation of the club, at all levels.Still no confirmation yet that Boehly is the preferred bidder. But Pagliuca and Broughton have both failed.Ratcliffe bid is either a PR-move or a late twist. Unclear yet if it’s being seriously considered having missed the sale deadlines.— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) April 29, 2022 It should be reminded that Raine Bank has already asked four consortiums to raise their basic bids by around 500 million pounds in order to enter into consideration for further negotiations, with a mandatory investment of at least 1.5 billion USD for the renovation of the stadium. Abramovich has already committed himself to redirecting the entire net income from the sale to humanitarian purposes, for the victims of the war in Ukraine. In addition, he promised to write off the club’s debt to him in the amount of almost two billion USD!What remains unclear for now is whether the Raine Bank will accept the offer of the Ratcliff brothers, whose INEOS headquarters is in Monaco. The fact that their headquarters are in the Principality of Monaco is important for the reason that their stay in this tax haven allegedly saved them – pay attention – six billion USD in unpaid taxes! In addition to the football clubs Nice and Lausanne, they also have their own team in sports sailing, Ineos Britain, the Ineos cycling team, with a five-year partnership with the Formula 1 Mercedes team, which was signed in 2020.The net worth of the Ratcliffe family is over 12 billion USD. Jim is a Manchester United fan, his brother Bob is a Chelsea supporter, and both have had season tickets for Stamford Bridge for many years.
