Sir Jim Ratcliffe (73), joint owner of Manchester United (Man U) and known as the wealthiest person in Britain, has attracted attention with an untold story of his attempt to hijack the acquisition of Chelsea.

The British 'Daily Mail' reported on the 10th (Korea time), sharing some details from a newly published book titled 'Approval, Inside the Sale of Chelsea FC'. According to the book, Sir Ratcliffe made a surprise offer at the last minute of Chelsea's sale in 2022, even when competition with the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium was virtually concluded.

Chelsea was forced to sell during Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 due to sanctions imposed by the British government on former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich because of allegations that he is an associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Chelsea sold the club in May 2022, and the sale proceeds of approximately £2.5 billion (about 4.6 trillion won) were frozen for a charity fund to assist war victims.

Sir Ratcliffe called Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck the morning after a 1-1 draw in the Premier League round 37 match against Manchester United in April 2022, requesting an urgent meeting.

At the meeting, Sir Ratcliffe claimed, while thumping his chest, "I have the Chelsea acquisition proposal in my pocket." However, unlike other bidders who submitted elaborate documents of 140 pages, Sir Ratcliffe did not take out his proposal.

Moreover, Sir Ratcliffe emphasized that his proposal was composed entirely of British capital, appealing to patriotism. However, Buck had already selected a preferred bidder.

Despite this, Sir Ratcliffe requested a meeting with the American investment bank 'Raine' and submitted an official bid of £4.25 billion (about 7.8 trillion won), matching the amount of the existing three bidders.

According to the book, Sir Ratcliffe gave the impression that he was confident in his advantage in this sale process requiring oversight and approval from the British government, solely because he was using pure British capital. In fact, at the time, INEOS issued a statement saying, "This is a bid by a British person for a British club."

However, such actions by Sir Ratcliffe angered the other bidders. Furthermore, due to the already late bid, Chelsea confirmed the decision to sell to the Boehly and Clearlake Capital consortium.

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