A British-led consortium fronted by Chelsea supporters has confirmed that it has made a bid to buy the club.
Centricus, a London-based asset management firm, has joined forces with Jonathan Lourie of Cheyne Capital and Talis Capital's Bob Finch, previously majority shareholder of FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark, to submit an offer prior to Friday night's deadline.
Lourie, Finch, Centricus' co-founder Nizar Al-Bassam and the firm's chief executive officer Garth Ritchie are all season-ticket holders at Stamford Bridge.



Centricus has advised FIFA and UEFA over funding in the past, and has access to significant funds.

To underline this they have a staggering ?40billion invested in technology companies, financial services and leisure companies.
'We oversee ?40bn assets,' Al-Bassam said via Zoom on Sunday afternoon. 
'We've been focused on content for a number of years, the FIFA work, the UEFA work, is all built around our view that content is a very, very dominant aspect of technology going forward and sports is a very core, key aspect of content.' 
'There's a clock [on finding a new owner for Chelsea] ticking because the club is bleeding money at a faster rate than it should be while there's uncertainty there.
'I've had the same seats in the Tambling suite and the same seats in the West Stand for 10 years.

I'm worried for the staff there when I see this turmoil. 





Centricus chief executive officer Garth Ritchie is part of the consortium who want to buy Blues





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Ritchie, who was also on the Zoom call, said: 'Chelsea are one of the very few unique iconic global brands that has come about by unfortunate circumstances, and that's not lost on us, but the commercial opportunity around an iconic global name in a sport that is continuing to grow means there has to be commercial viability here.
'We have experience of managing big and complex organisations.

We are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Not only do you have the FA making sure you don't do anything wrong, you also have the FCA making sure you stay in your swim lane.
'We would definitely want to invest in the company, the players and surroundings.

It's why we keep talking about having "patient" capital. The people supporting us have deep pockets of capital. Us being fans, we want to win and we need to invest and if we win the brand continues to grow back.'
Meanwhile, Vivek Ranadive, owner of the Sacramento Kings basketball team, has been identified as one of the mystery investors in Sir Martin Broughton and Lord Sebastian Coe's bid to buy Chelsea.
However, as detailed by Sportsmail on Sunday, Abramovich can still scupper the Chelsea sale with sources insisting that he does not want to accept a bid from a country that has sanctioned Russian oligarchs.





Latest development means the European champions could yet end up in administration 

Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, will be able to influence the club's sale despite having had his assets seized by the Government, sources have told The Mail on Sunday.
He has hired The Raine Group to sell the club and could veto bids from the United States and Britain because both countries have sanctioned oligarchs from his homeland in response to the war on Ukraine.
The development means Chelsea could yet end up in administration, as the highest remaining bid from outside the US and Europe is likely to be from the Saudi Media Group, who have reportedly tabled an offer of ?2.66bn.
But with the Chancellor Rishi Sunak overseeing the process, the Government is unlikely to back a Saudi approach, given the recent backlash against Newcastle United's sale to an investment fund linked to the Gulf nation's rulers.
US businessman Todd Boehly has teamed up with Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and British property developer Jonathan Goldstein, to lead one of the two major American bids for Chelsea. 







The Ricketts family publicly confirmed their intention to bid for the Blues on Wednesday

Their proposal appears to have gone a long way to reassuring the Government that they can do a quick deal.
The Ricketts family, owners of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, also lodged a bid. 
The Government could yet seize Chelsea, but even if a deal is agreed there would be questions around the proceeds, given it has said Abramovich would not receive any money.

Raine declined to comment.
This update comes as John Terry has entered the Chelsea ownership race by confirming he is fronting up a ?250million consortium looking to buy supporters a 10 per cent share in the club.
The former skipper and Chelsea legend is leading the True Blues Consortium, which plans to allow fans to buy a stake in the club for as little as ?100.
Terry and former Chelsea women's player Claire Rafferty have put their names to the consortium which has won the backing of Stamford Bridge freeholders, Chelsea Pitch Owners, and the club's supporters' trust.





Terry and former women's star Claire Rafferty (front left) are heading up True Blues





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The bid could offer supporters the chance to buy a stake in the club for as little as ?100