British billionaire holds Chelsea takeover talks as Abramovich demands huge fee

According to Times, British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is interested in buying Chelsea Football Club and has held initial talks over a potential takeover.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe retains an interest in buying Chelsea on top of his takeover of Team Sky, which is expected to be confirmed today. The petrochemicals billionaire has been exploring whether to purchase the London club from Roman Abramovich but has balked at an asking price of at least £2.5 billion.

Ratcliffe, 66, the wealthiest British person, is set to become an increasingly influential figure in sport in this country with the confirmation that Team Sky will become Team Ineos. 

Money is not an issue for a man worth £21 billion according to The Sunday Times Rich List thanks to his founding of Ineos. 

Last year, he invested £110 million in Sir Ben Ainslie’s Ineos Team UK, renaming the sailing team after his petrochemicals company with the aim of competing for the America’s Cup in New Zealand in 2021. In 2017, he bought FC Lausanne-Sport, who play in Switzerland’s top football league and has looked into buying Chelsea where he holds a season ticket despite growing up in Manchester as a United fan.

While Chelsea say officially that the club is not for sale, Abramovich has become a detached figure, especially since problems over his visa caused by deteriorating relations between Britain and Russia. The owner is understood to have an Israeli passport, which allows him to visit the UK for up to six months without a visa, but he has withdrawn plans to rebuild Stamford Bridge.

The need for a new stadium, and the huge cost of construction, if Chelsea are to increase their revenue, is another reason why Ratcliffe will not pay £2.5 billion for the Premier League club. He does, however, have the money to take over Team Sky, the wealthiest and most successful team on the UCI World Tour. Exploratory talks have been held but the two parties are far apart in their respective valuations.