Man Utd fan Sir Jim Ratcliffe opens up on ‘split loyalties’ over Chelsea takeover offer

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Chelsea received a late bidder on Friday as Sir Jim Ratcliffe joined the race to buy the club. And now the billionaire has opened up about having ‘split loyalties’ due to being a Manchester United fan, but still wants to make the London club huge.

Ratcliffe has opened up about his ‘split loyalties’ in his attempt to take over Chelsea despite being a Manchester United fan.

The billionaire made a late bid to buy Chelsea on Friday but has seen his approach knocked back, and the three other consortiums in the race to buy Chelsea are being considered by the Raine group, who are overseeing the sale. But Ratcliffe is ‘not giving up’ on a takeover bid even though his offer was rejected.

Ratcliffe is pushing for Raine to reconsider as he believes it’s in the club’s interest for Roman Abramovich to be succeeded by a British owner. But he has opened up in his ‘loyalties’ as he is aware he is attempting to purchase Chelsea despite being a United fan.

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Although Ratcliffe made a late bid to buy Chelsea for £4.25billion on Friday, he revealed to the BBC that he would have ‘split loyalties’ when the Blues would play United. But outside of facing United, Ratcliffe has high intentions should he take charge of Chelsea.

Ratcliffe also revealed that he wants to turn Chelsea into a club of “the same stature as the city of London,” and amid an ongoing stadium row, the billionaire has promised to offer Stamford Bridge a “world-class capacity” and would not rename the ground.

There would also be significant investment into Chelsea’s women’s and academy teams, as Ratcliffe looks to benefit the club in all areas. But for now, his bid has been rejected, and Chelsea are now closer to finding a new owner.

The Chelsea ownership saga rolls on, as the club are still yet to find a new owner in the wake of Abramovich’s sanctions. The Russian was sanctioned by the UK government for his alleged involvement with Vladimir Putin earlier this year.

A consortium led by LA Dodgers owner Todd Boehly is understood to be the preferred bidder for Chelsea at this moment in time. But Ratcliffe is making a late charge to poach the deal away from the American.

And as he attempts to persuade Raine to reconsider, he has opened up to the BBC, as he said: “Consideration should be given to a British bid. We had communication with Raine and met with them at the end of last week.

“We presented a bid but have heard very little back from them. My message to Raine is don’t discount our offer. We are British and have great intentions for Chelsea. If I was Raine I wouldn’t close any door.”

It’s now been two months since Abramovich announced that the club would be put up for sale, which was shortly after he was sanctioned. His assets remain frozen, but Chelsea need to complete a sale if they are to have their special licence lifted.

Due to Abramovich’s sanctions, Chelsea have been restricted the right to sell home tickets, and they’re still unable to sign and re-sign players. The implications have been drastic as Antonio Rudiger looks set to leave the club when his contract expires this summer.

And Andreas Christensen will follow him out the door, and there are no guarantees that Cesar Azpilicueta will re-sign either. But with Ratcliffe’s intentions to change their fortunes, he was asked why his group submitted their bid so late.

Ratcliffe said: “I think that is quite simple – it is a big decision to buy a national asset and it’s a big commitment in terms of time and money. We’re there for the long term that’s a lot of responsibility to take on and it takes time to reach a decision to be fully committed.

“We got there at the end of the day and we are committed. We’re not giving up.” It’s likely that although the saga has rolled on, a decision will be reached soon, allowing Chelsea to reset this summer.”

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