Sir Jim Ratcliffe isn't giving up on winning the bid battle for Chelsea.
The London Evening Standard says Ratcliffe is still hoping to hijack the deal to buy Chelsea, despite Todd Boehly being named as the preferred bidder.
One of Britain's richest men launched a last-minute move for the club on Friday, throwing fresh uncertainty over a process that is finally nearing completion.
US merchant bank Raine Group were in the process of confirming to the three shortlisted contenders who would be submitted to the Treasury as the successful candidate when Ratcliffe's £4.25billion offer was revealed.
While Boehly is now in a five-day period of exclusive negotiations, Ratcliffe's bid remains on the table and is still seen by sources close to the process as a viable option.
As a result Raine are still to publicly confirm Boehly as their choice to buy out Roman Abramovich. It is believed that an increased offer from Ratcliffe - owner of INEOS - could be enough to blow the process wide open.
It is thought he bypassed Raine in making his offer, thus avoiding the complex bidding process set up by the bank. Steve Pagliuca and Sir Martin Broughton were informed on Friday afternoon that their bids had been unsuccessful.
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