Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe has refused to rule out him potentially buying Premier League club Chelsea in the future.
Ratcliffe, the billionaire boss of multinational petrochemicals giant Ineos and a season-ticket holder at Stamford Bridge, expressed an interest in buying the club last summer but his valuation is vastly below the valuation set by Roman Abramovich.
Seemingly undeterred in his pursuit, Ratcliffe claimed during the launch of his recently acquired cycling group Team Ineos that he can 'never say no' on potential move for the Blues.
In an interview with BBC Sport on Wednesday, he said: 'I'm a sort of tortured Manchester United fan at the moment but I think we've dipped our toe in the water with football.
'It's a very different sport, quite a complicated sport. We're in the process of learning about it. We bought this club in Switzerland (FC Lausanne-Sport) and it's really been educational.
'We haven't got to where we've got to in our chemicals and business world by being impetuous and rash and stupid obviously.
'We recognise it's a very complex world and we're sort of going through that process of learning. We're not in a desperate hurry to get to the endgame with football.
'You can never say no but I don't know where those conversations will finish.'
Ratcliffe has a personal fortune of more than double that of Abramovich. The 66-year-old is a United fan but watches football at Stamford Bridge because it is close to his Chelsea home. Last season he was also a guest at the club's Cobham training ground.
Last year's Sunday Times rich list valued Ratcliffe at £21.05bn, compared to Abramovich's £9.3bn valuation. Sportsmail understands the club would cost around £3bn to buy. Ratcliffe's company, Ineos, recorded sales of £45bn and employs more than 18,500 people in 22 countries.
Chelsea have held talks with three interested parties over the potential sale of the club. They are believed to have included US and Asian-based finance groups, as well as Ratcliffe.
Abramovich is not believed to have attended any Chelsea games since being denied a visa in May 2018. The 53-year-old Russian billionaire subsequently sought Israeli citizenship, moving to Tel Aviv.
He has spent between £1m and £3m on corporate hospitality boxes at Stamford Bridge every year since 2011 but did not buy any before the start of this season for the first time in almost a decade.
Ratcliffe has reportedly turned his attentions to buying French outfit Nice, currently seventh in Ligue 1, and would face considerable competition to complete a deal for the Blues.
lakerhala
68
Wonder if he'll be as committed as Roman has been. Just because somebody has money it doesn't mean they'll be a good owner. Your heart needs to be in it and you need to care about the club. Like him or not, Abramovich has been a great owner for Chelsea, just look at the players their academy keeps producing
Oliverkiss
68
That's probably the only thing that could stop me supporting Chelsea after 55 years as a fan: if it was sold to the Saudis.
reallybaby
59
Don't want a United supporter owning our club. End of. Just like United wouldn't want a Chelsea fan owning their club.
beans
54
Don't bother with Chelsea get up to Bolton & buy the Wanderers. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!!
MacBook
52
Slowly slowly he has stopped pumping huge money into the club, and after the UK ban which obviously angered him, he wants to stop pumping any money into the UK. Chelsea supporters should want him to sell to a owner who will want to push the club forward
Susanlus
50
And they say Chelsea will be done if Roman leaves, yeah, sure, and the man 3 times richer than him comes along, you mad?
Sammybal
46
We are looking for oil money not bicycle owner
Realplayer
42
Whether Roman stays or sells will make very little difference to the football club. Chelsea are located in the prime property area of one of the most famous and attractive cities in the world and consequently some of the richest investors in world football will show their interest should Roman decide to move on.There's probably a good few Chelsea fans who would welcome a change and enjoy the expectation more billions brings.
Dukekill
39
He's buying as a football fan and it's way better than glazers who know nothing about football