Sir Jim Ratcliffe explains why he bid for Chelsea and not Man Utd amid ‘divided loyalty’

Chelsea remain in the market and Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe has thrown his hat in the ring to become the new owner of the Blues in a mega-money offer

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has explained why he wants to buy Chelsea despite Britain’s richest man actually being a Manchester United fan.

The saga of who will succeed Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich as Blues owner has been raging for more than two months, but Todd Boehly’s consortium is said to be in pole position to hand over the keys to Stamford Bridge. Despite this, Ratcliffe still has hopes of becoming an owner – although Raine, the bank responsible for the sale, has told him he is not being considered.

Petrochemical giant INEOS founder Ratcliffe has confirmed he has made an offer for the club despite being a known Red Devils fan. When asked why he was following Chelsea, the billionaire admitted to BBC Sport: “I have divided allegiances. I saw Chelsea when I was in London for years, it was difficult going to United.”

And when some fans wondered why he didn’t want to buy United given the unrest and unhappiness about the Glazers, he explained in simple terms: “I see [why United fans want him as owner] but the club is not for sale.”

Curiously, given his affection for United, Ratcliffe is a season ticket holder at Stamford Bridge. Ratcliffe, dubbed the richest man in Britain by Forbes, has amassed his £20 billion fortune through his chemicals multinational Ineos.

The 69-year-old is no stranger to the world of football either, as he already owns French club Nice. He has long been touted as bringing his billions into the English top flight, with ties to Chelsea dating back to 2019 – well before Abramovich faced sanctions from the UK government.

Ratcliffe has been candid with BBC Sport about his £4.25billion bid for the Blues. We had communication with Raine and met them at the end of last week,” he explained. “We made an offer but heard very little from them.

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My message to Raine is: Don’t discount our offer. We’re British and we have big intentions for Chelsea. If I were Raine, I wouldn’t close a door.” Much of the confusion surrounding his offer stems from the fact that Ratcliffe made his offer so much later than the other applicants involved.

The billionaire has since explained why that was, revealing: “I think it’s quite simple – it’s a big decision to buy a national asset and it’s a big commitment in terms of time and money.

“We’re there long-term, that means taking on a lot of responsibility and it takes time to make a decision to fully commit. We got there at the end of the day and we’re committed. We will not give up .”