Boston Celtics owner Stephen Pagliuca will have his proposal “eliminated this week” from the bidding process to buy Chelsea, according to the Daily Mail.
A decision on the takeover was expected from the Raine Group in the coming days but there is now likely to be “another stage” to determine who will be the winner.
The Mail believe Pagliuca’s offer will be rejected on the grounds that it is “not offering anything new”, in contrast to the proposals from the Boehly and Broughton consortiums.
In terms of which of the final two will end up as the victor, it appears it will come down to who can prove they can finance the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge.
It is thought that all bidders have, so far, struggled to show that they have the funds in place for the stadium, unless the option is chosen to move to a completely new ground. The Raine Group may, therefore, have to accept an offer below £2.5bn so that a deal can go through.
