Britain's richest man Jim Ratcliffe, worth £21bn, re-opens the door to buying Chelsea from Abramovich as he says: 'Never say no... I don't know where those conversations will finish'
Britain's richest man has not ruled out buying Chelsea Football Club after admitting he did have a tour of their training ground last year.
Jim Ratcliffe was in the Yorkshire Dales on Wednesday to launch Team INEOS after taking over the professional cycling team from Sky.
And while it is understood he has not so far been prepared to meet Roman Abramovich’s valuation for the club, believed to be in the region of £4bn despite Chelsea insisting the Russian billionaire has no intention of selling, Ratcliffe hinted he is still interested.
Scroll down for video
Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe has refused to rule out him potentially buying Chelsea
Ratcliffe was keen last summer but his valuation was vastly below that of Roman Abramovich
Dan Roan
✔@danroan
“You never say no, but I don’t know where those conversations will finish..”
I asked Britain’s richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, if he wanted to buy Chelsea FC from Roman Abramovich. Certainly didn’t rule it out..138
87 people are talking about this
He initially dismissed a report in Sportsmail last year that he had been given a tour of Chelsea’s Cobham training base, only to then rather mischievously admit the story was true.
And when pressed on Chelsea specifically, he told the BBC: ‘I'd never say no, but I don't know where those conversations will finish up.’
There is understood to be interest in Chelsea from different parts of the world, with a bid from Saudi Arabia thought to be serious.
Ratcliffe, however, appears interested in exploring football.
‘I am a big Manchester United fan,’ he said. ‘In fact, I am a tortured Manchester United fan at the moment to be honest.
‘We have dipped our toe in the water with football, it's a very different sport, quite a complicated sport, a complicated world.
‘We are in the process of learning about it. We bought this club in Switzerland and it has been really educational.
‘We haven got to where we are in the chemicals and business world by being impetuous, rash and stupid.
‘We recognised it is a very complex world, we are going through the process of learning and we are not in a desperate hurry to get to the end game.’
The 66-year-old is a United fan but watches football at Stamford Bridge - his nearest stadium
Jim Ratcliffe, Chris Froome and Dave Brailsford pose during the Team INEOS unveiling
Last year's Sunday Times rich list valued Ratcliffe at £21.05bn, compared to Abramovich's £9.3bn valuation.
Ratcliffe's company, Ineos, recorded sales of £45bn and employs more than 18,500 people in 22 countries.
Abramovich is not believed to have attended any Chelsea games since being denied a visa in May 2018. The 52-year-old Russian billionaire subsequently sought Israeli citizenship, moving to Tel Aviv.
He has spent between £1m and £3m on corporate hospitality boxes at Stamford Bridge every year since 2011 but did not buy any before the start of this season for the first time in almost a decade.
Ratcliffe has reportedly turned his attentions to buying French outfit Nice, currently seventh in Ligue 1, and would face considerable competition to complete a deal for the Blues.
Ratcliffe recently came in for criticism after reports claimed himself and two of his key allies at Ineos are planning to save up to £4bn in tax after moving to Monaco.
Ineos, which is valued at about £35bn, is said to be working with tax experts at PwC so the business can dramatically reduce the tax paid on its worldwide revenues, according to Sunday Times.
