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Football London
Football London
Sport
Paul Clarke

What Jim Ratcliffe has said about a Chelsea takeover amid claims of purchasing Ligue 1 outfit

A debate over Chelsea's ownership will continue to rage on the back of comments from Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has opened up on his potential interest in buying the club.

Ratcliffe admits he is still a 'tortured' Manchester United fan but has been linked with a takeover of the Blues.

Chelsea have been owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich since 2003 but Ratcliffe is reported to be keen on landing the club.

Ratcliffe's reported net worth of £21billion comes from the fortune he amassed with Ineos, his multinational chemicals company.

He is the new owner of cycling giant Team Sky and has renamed it Team Ineos, but is now aiming to also move deeper into football.

Ratcliffe owns FC Lausanne-Sport in Switzerland, with the purchase of that club being somewhat of a test to see how the football world works.

Meanwhile, latest rumours from France claim his INEOS have had an offer accepted to purchase Ligue 1 outfit OGC Nice, likely worth more than €100m.

The billionaire has since done an interview with the BBC's Dan Roan and touched on the potential of buying Chelsea.

"I'm a tortured Manchester United fan. We have dipped our toe in the water with football," Ratcliffe told the BBC.

"It's a very different sport and it's complicated. We are in the process of learning. We bought this club in Switzerland and that's really been educational.

"We haven't got to where we have got to in our chemicals and business world by being rash and stupid.

"We recognise it's a very complex world. We are not in a desperate hurry to get to the end game."

When asked again if he was interested in buying Chelsea, Ratcliffe said: "You never say no."

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