Sir Jim Ratcliffe makes a whopping £4.25 billion bid to buy Chelsea

Ratcliffe is the owner of INEOS, a petrochemicals giant, which released a statement Friday afternoon confirming their offer. Ratcliffe met with top Chelsea officials earlier this week, including Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck, to discuss the bid.

According to reports, the offer would include a promise to invest £1.75 billion over ten years into the club's development, team, and infrastructure in addition to meeting the estimated value of approximately £2.5 billion for the purchase, which will go to the Charitable Trust to support war victims.

The British Billionaire offered Raine Group, the merchant bank conducting the sale. He also told the group that they were in a position to send the money and close the deal for Chelsea by the weekend.

According to reports, the Billionaire Englishman has bid for Chelsea at the last minute as he has a long-standing interest in the club.

"This is a British bid for a British club," a statement issued by INEOS read. "We believe that a club is bigger than its owners who are temporary custodians of a great tradition, with the responsibility to the fans and the community."

Ratcliffe further explained his bid by saying they are the sole British bidders and their motives are to create a 'very fine club' in London, with no profit mind as they make their money in other ways.

The sudden intervention of Ratcliffe, who, according to Forbes, is Britain's richest person with a net worth of £12 billion, has come more than two weeks after New York-based Raine Group's deadline for the final offer. Roman Abramovich has appointed Raine Group to manage the sale. 

Ratcliffe is a Chelsea fan whose company INEOS also owns the French side Nice and Swiss side, Lausanne. After making his offer, he has outlined his vision for the club.

Ratcliffe wants to make Stamford Bridge a 'world-class stadium' befitting Chelsea FC. 

If the deal comes to fruition, it will be the most expensive price ever paid for a sports team in history.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe entered the Chelsea race as Stephen Pagliuca's offer got rejected.

INEOS owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has joined the Chelsea bidding war with Todd Boehly, Sir Martin Broughton, and Stephen Pagliuca's groups. 

Raine Group had reduced the bidders to three possible consortiums. One was headed by Todd Boehly (Los Angeles Lakers part-owner), another by Sir Martin Broughton (British businessman), and a third by Stephen Pagliuca (Boston Celtics co-owner).

The group was further narrowed on Friday afternoon when Stephen Pagliuca's consortium, including Larry Tanenbaum, a serial sports investor and NBA chairman, was informed that they would not be chosen as the preferred bidder. The other two parties are still waiting for any updates.

Current owner Roman Abramovich demands an extra £500 million for Chelsea.

Roman Abramovich was compelled to sell the team after being placed under severe sanctions by the United Kingdom government.

After deciding to sell the club following the sanctions, Abramovich sought £3 billion. However, the bids are thought to have reached only £2.5 billion.

According to reports, the Russian Billionaire raised the asking price for Chelsea FC by £500 million ($627 million) during the final phase of bidding. Now, the total cost of buying Chelsea is around £3.5 billion ($4.4billion), with approximately £2.5 billion ($3.14billion) going to the new Ukraine foundation and the remaining £1 billion ($1.26billion) going to Chelsea directly.

The new bid by Sir Jim Ratcliffe sits perfectly with Roman Abramovich's demands. However, it remains to be seen if the deal can be completed between the Billionaires.