Hamilton faces Mercedes opposition in Chelsea bid

Lewis Hamilton's bid to invest in Chelsea Football Club is facing last-minute opposition from Mercedes F1 co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

In December 2020, Ratcliffe acquired a one-third stake in the team via his chemical company INEOS in a restructuring exercise in which team principal Toto Wolff and Mercedes' parent company Daimler became equal partners.

Ahead of last weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, seven-time champion Hamilton was named as part of a consortium led by former British Airways chairman Sir Martin Broughton looking to buy Chelsea, with known friend and tennis star Serena Williams also involved.

Although an Arsenal fan, Hamilton has reportedly committed £10million to a deal he described as "one of the greatest opportunities".

Ratcliffe's rival bid is reported to be worth £4.25billion, with a £1.75bn commitment to be invested in the club across a 10-year period.

In a statement, INEOS said: "This is a British bid, for a British 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."

Prior to Ratcliffe's late move, the shortlist had been whittled down to three interested parties to purchase Chelsea, of which Broughton and Hamilton is one.

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