Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck has reportedly informed Sir Jim Ratcliffe that he cannot gate-crash the bidding process for the Premier League club.
Last week, on the same day that it was widely claimed that Todd Boehly's consortium had been identified as the preferred bidder by US merchant bank Raine Group, Ratcliffe released a statement to say that he was prepared to pay £4.25m to buy Chelsea.
As it stands, that is significantly more money than Boehly is currently in line to pay for the West London side, something which may be perceived to be beneficial amid reports that Roman Abramovich is demanding that £1.6m of debts be repaid.
Nevertheless, according to CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs, Buck has told Ratcliffe that he will only be regarded as a backup at best.
Boehly has entered a period of exclusivity as he and Chelsea look to push through a takeover as soon as possible, the club under pressure to change hands before a special government licence expires on May 31.
Should a deal not be finalised by that date, Chelsea are at risk of not being able to participate in the Premier League next season, as well as not being able to meet other financial commitments.
Darren Plant
