Roman Abramovich & Chelsea
How interested is Roman Abramovich in Chelsea these days?
Turn back the clock a few years, and Chelsea’s billionaire Russian owner was regularly in attendance at Stamford Bridge.
However Abramovich is now a stranger in west London. That follows visa problems with the UK Home Office.
For months there have been rumours that Abramovich is interested in selling Chelsea.
On Tuesday those rumours have surfaced again in the Times.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe & Chelsea’s £2.5 billion price tag
According to the Times, Chelsea could be sold to British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe:
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.
A side-note on Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is said to be valued at £21 billion.
Having been brought up in Manchester, he’s known to have supported Man United as a kid.
These days, however, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has a season ticket at Stamford Bridge.
So will the Chelsea takeover happen?
The Times note that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Roman Abramovich don’t see eye to eye on how much Chelsea should be valued at.
Specifically, it’s noted that Stamford Bridge needs investment which Abramovich isn’t keen on undertaking. The Times report:
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.
TIMES SPORT: Richest man may bid for Chelsea next #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/eqIPxhjdV2
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) March 18, 2019
Deja vu at Chelsea
How seriously should Chelsea fans take the claims of a possible takeover from Sir Jim Ratcliffe?
For the record, this is far from the first time Ratcliffe has been linked with the Blues.
Back in June 2018, the Times ran a similar story concerning the possible Blues buyout. Back then supporters were told:
Britain’s richest person has been working in secret on a £2bn takeover offer for Chelsea for more than two months.
Sources close to Chelsea have dismissed Ratcliffe’s approach as an opportunistic move after the recent political row over Abramovich’s visa — which is limiting his ability to conduct business on British soil.
Yet City insiders claim that this is misleading, because Ratcliffe first declared an interest long before Abramovich’s problems emerged and the proposal was a serious and detailed offer.
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