Chelsea could soon be owned by Manchester United fan Jim Ratcliffe, and there's a reason that Britain's richest man hasn't made a move for the team he supports.
Chelsea have been on the market for a couple of months, with the Raine Group, who are helping to sell Roman Abramovich's team, whittling the bidders down to the last few.
On Friday things took a shocking twist, as it was revealed that Ineos CEO Ratcliffe had made a surprise last minute bid worth up to £4 billion, and could close the deal this weekend.
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The 69-year-old, who also owns Ligue 1 side Nice, has had a season ticket at Stamford Bridge for some years, due to living in London, though he moved to Monaco in 2020, but grew up in Greater Manchester and supported United.
The fans at Old Trafford have never been happy with their American owners, the Glazer family, and continue to protest them, and would no doubt love to see Ratcliffe bid for them instead of their rivals.
Ratcliffe explained in 2019 why he wouldn't be interested in buying United, explaining that his company never wanted to be 'dumb' in how they spent money.
"[Ineos] never wants to be the dumb money in town, never," he told the Times.
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"They [United] are in quite a big pickle as a business.
"They haven’t got the manager selection right, haven’t bought well. They have been the dumb money, which you see with players like Fred.
"United have spent an immense amount since Ferguson left and been poor, to put it mildly. Shockingly poor, to be honest.
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"We have a different approach here to be moderately intelligent about it. Try to do it more grass roots, trying to locate young talent.
"Some clubs seem to have an ability to do that, Southampton, Lille. United have done it really poorly. They have lost the plot."
It feels like Ratcliffe hit the nail firmly on the head, and things haven't exactly improved in the past three years at the club, although it's bit harsh to single out Fred.
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Since Ratcliffe's comments the team are still without any silverware and didn't come anywhere near ending the drought in this campaign.
The club are waiting for Erik ten Hag to take over this summer, following the end of Ralf Rangnick's interim role, although he is set to be a consultant for the new manager, even with a new management job.
Ten Hag will have a lot of work to do when he finally takes over and it has been claimed that only two players remain safe in their positions when the Dutchman takes over.
No doubt he would love to have Ratcliffe's billions behind him to improve the squad, as well as the training ground and even the stadium, which have been neglected in recent years under the Glazers.
Topics: Premier League, Manchester United, Chelsea
Ryan Sidle