Things could’ve been much different had the course of history taken a different route back in 2022. With the world reeling after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, English football was sent into a state of shock after Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was ordered to sell the club, with a Todd Boehly-led consortium eventually taking over at Stamford Bridge.
Things have hardly been smooth sailing since the American arrived in west London, with his transfer policy and willingness to sack managers having come under criticism. But, according to a new book, it was very nearly Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the Chelsea hotseat instead.
It’s a tale that’s been revealed in ‘Sanctioned: The Inside Story of the Sale of Chelsea FC’, which claims Ratcliffe rang Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck in April 2022 to request an urgent meeting. It goes on to say Ratcliffe was repeatedly tapping his chest, indicating he had a piece of paper in his pocket with a purported offer for the club to consider. Not exactly the most orthodox way of negotiating.
By comparison, it’s said that other consortia, including Boehly, had filed 140-page documents. Meanwhile, Ratcliffe was bigging up his offer, given it was “the only made up entirely of British money.” Ratcliffe did later request a meeting with Raine, the US bank handling the sale, where he tabled a format bid of £4.25billion.
Ratcliffe’s INEOS released a statement at the time confirming this, with its tagline reading ‘British bid for British club’. However, as confirmed to Ratcliffe by Buck, he was too late, given Boehly’s consortium had been selected as the preferred bidder.
Ratcliffe wouldn’t have to wait long to get his foot in the English football door though, as the Glazers announced later that year they’d be open to a sale. A minority 27.7 per cent takeover at Manchester United followed, with Ratcliffe and INEOS taking charge of the football operations at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, in the book, which was released this month, Abramovich opened up for the first time since relinquishing control of the capital club. He said: “Perhaps one day there would be a situation where I could attend a match and say a proper goodbye, but nothing more than that
"I don’t have any interest in any role in a football club, certainly not a professional role. There might be something where I could help with academies and youngsters, giving greater opportunities to people from difficult backgrounds, if there was an initiative that could make a difference.”