British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe out of the running to buy Chelsea
According to the Daily Mail, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, owner of INEOS, does not want to buy Chelsea and wants to focus on developing French side Nice into a European powerhouse.
Bob Ratcliffe, brother of Jim Ratcliffe runs the footballing division of INEOS Petrochemicals. The British billionaire looked at buying Chelsea in 2019 and Newcastle but opted to buy French club Nice. The Ligue 1 side are on course to qualify for the Champions League next season, have reached the Cup final and also got the better of French giants PSG in their league last night.
The Ratcliffe brothers inherited a struggling Nice side with Patrick Vieira as the manager but replaced him with Christophe Galtier in the summer. The Frenchman made the switch from Lille to Nice, immediately after winning the league and has lived up to the expectations with Nice this season.
Speaking to Sportsmail, as quoted by Daily Mail, Bob Ratcliffe has claimed that they want to be smart and do not want to pursue buying Chelsea and would rather concentrate on Nice.
“We don’t want to be dumb money. With Nice we’re through to the cup final in France, that’s pretty significant.”
Selling Chelsea on a loss?
Daily Mail in a separate report also claims that Roman Abramovich may have to sell the London based club at a loss if he is unable to spark a bidding war among the suitors.
The Russian billionaire is apparently asking for £3billion to sell the club, with some even claiming that the figure could be close to £4bn. However, it is believed that Abramovich may have to cut his losses and lower his valuation to find a buyer.
There is no interest from Kuwait and China to buy Chelsea, while Russian investors cannot show any interest for the same reasons that Abramovich has to sell the Blues. As of now, the consortium formed by Swiss Billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and US-based Todd Boehly, along with other partners are the early favourites to buy the London based club.
Abramovich had said that he would sell the club debt-free. As time goes on, if Abramovich is unable to spark a bidding war and is forced to sell the club at a valuation lower than the £1.5 billion, then he will be forced to sell Chelsea on a loss.
When Bob Ratcliffe was asked if he thinks Chelsea is available on a fire sale, he said that it was unlikely and that the value will be high, even if that was the case.
“Is Chelsea really a fire sale? I’m not sure. That’s a good story but I’m sure it’s still a very big number.”
More Chelsea News
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Whether on a loss or not, Chelsea are up for sale and it remains to be seen as to who will be the new owners at Stamford Bridge and how it affects the Blues from a footballing perspective.