The £4.25bn offered by Sir Jim Ratcliffe to buy Chelsea is understood to be lower than that on the table by preferred bidder Todd Boehly.
Despite being over two weeks late for the deadline set by the group managing the sale, Raine, Ratcliffe confirmed that he had lodged a formal offer to buy the Blues which is believed to have bypassed Raine altogether and gone straight to Chelsea themselves.
The announcement of the bid came shortly after Raine confirmed to Boehly that he had been put forward as their preferred bidder, with the American to be given exclusive negotiations to try and finalise a deal.Sound
Ratcliffe has pleaded his case to the UK government, arguing that his is the only all-British bid and should be pushed ahead of the rest as a result, but The Times state that the late offer is no longer under consideration.
The feeling is that Chelsea have already snubbed Ratcliffe's offer as it is lower than that proposed by Boehly, while Raine have moved quickly to dismiss the bid as it came so far after their deadline.
Raine's argument is that Ratcliffe's offer has come in without any due diligence, while there have also been questions over his 'all-British' claim since he currently resides in Monaco.
90min revealed in March, before Abramovich had even put the club up for sale, that Ratcliffe had been approached over a possible bid and was considering a move, only for the British businessman to decide against it.
He has now come in with a £4.25bn offer which met Abramovich's valuation at the time but has fallen short of those now on the table - after the Chelsea owner raised the price to increase his charitable donation.
As a result, Boehly is expected to be given the chance to get a deal done, but there is still work to do before a takeover can be completed. Sir Martin Broughton and Stephen Pagliuca, Boehly's rivals in the bidding process, have been told to keep alert if things break down.
This article was originally published on 90min as Chelsea takeover: Sir Jim Ratcliffe's bid 'lower' than Todd Boehly offer.
Source: www.90min.com