LONDON, May 2 — Britain’s richest man Jim Ratcliffe refused to rule out on Tuesday, an attempt to buy Premier League club Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.

Ratcliffe is already involved in football after purchasing Swiss side Lausanne in 2017, while his company has also expressed an interest in French outfit Nice.

The 66-year-old Manchester United fan has been linked with a bid to take over from Abramovich at Chelsea after the Russian reportedly took a more hands-off role in Stamford Bridge business this season.

Speaking at the launch of cycling’s Team Ineos, the rebranded Team Sky taken over by Ratcliffe, the billionaire founder of chemicals giant Ineos said he would not shut the door on a potential approach for Chelsea.

"You never say no, but I don’t know where those conversations will finish,” Ratcliffe told BBC Sport.

"I think we’ve dipped our toe in the water with football. It’s a complicated sport, it’s a complicated world.

"We’ve bought this club in Switzerland and it’s been really educational. We haven’t got to where we’ve got to in the chemical and business world by being impetuous or rash or stupid.

"We recognise it’s a very complicated world. We’re not in a desperate hurry to get to the end game.”

Chelsea are said to be valued by Abramovich at £4 billion (RM21.4 billion), with Ratcliffe worth a reported £21 billion.

Abramovich, 52, is not believed to have attended any Chelsea games since May 2018. — AFP