Sir Jim Ratcliffe has tabled a last-minute £4.25billion bid to buy Chelsea.
Ratcliffe is reported to have held talks with Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck on Thursday and submitted a major offer for the Stamford Bridge club on Friday.
The 69-year-old explored in detail a possible bid for the Blues back in 2019, only to buy French club Nice instead.
A spokesperson for Ratcliffe confirmed the British business magnate's offer to buy Chelsea, with the bid understood now to represent the highest for the club.
"We put an offer in this morning," Ratcliffe told
The Times.
"We are the only British bid. Our motives are simply to try and create a very fine club in London. We have no profit motive because we make our money in other ways."
Sir Jim Ratcliffe statement in full
"Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of Ineos, has made a formal bid for Chelsea FC, for £4.25bn. £2.5bn is committed to the Charitable Trust to support victims of the war, with £1.75bn committed to investment directly into the club over the
next 10 years.
"This is a British bid, for a British club.
"We believe that a club is bigger than its owners who are temporary custodians of a great tradition. With responsibility to the fans and the community.
"That is why we are committing to spending £1.75bn over 10 years that will be for the direct benefit of the club.
"We will invest in Stamford Bridge to make it a world-class stadium, befitting of Chelsea FC.
"This will be organic and ongoing so that we will not move away from the home of Chelsea and risk losing the support of loyal fans.
"We will continue to invest in the team to ensure we have a first-class squad of the world's greatest players, coaches and support staff, in the men's and women's games.
"And we hope to continue to invest in the academy to provide opportunity for talented youngsters to develop into first class players.
"We believe that London should have a club that reflects the stature of the city. One that is held in the same regard as Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich. We intend Chelsea to be that club.
"We are making this investment as fans of the beautiful game - not as a means to turn a profit. We do that with our core businesses. The club is rooted in its community and its fans. And it is our intention to invest in Chelsea FC for that reason.
"No further comment will be made from Sir Jim or INEOS during the bidding process."
Source: Sir Jim Ratcliffe: Team Ineos owner makes late bid to buy Chelsea