Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been announced as a surprise bidder for Chelsea, according to a sensational report in the Times.
The petrochemicals billionaire is said to have made a bid of almost £4bn for Chelsea, and has had talks with club chairman Bruce Buck and outgoing owner Roman Abramovich this week.
The bid seems to be composed of an initial £2.5bn offer for the club, with a further £1.5bn pledged for future investment.
It’s not clear how a late bid could happen, given there’s been a two month long process of reducing the initial 20 of so offers to 3 or 4 preferred bidders.
Further information is likely to emerge in the days to come, but this is a very serious bid from a very serious player, and it should be taken seriously.
Ratcliffe is a well known Manchester United fan, and had made attempts to buy Premier League clubs in the past.
