Chelsea fans will be surprised to hear that they are no longer the country’s richest club.

In fact, they are not even the wealthiest in West London any more.

That honour now goes to unfashionable neighbours Queens Park Rangers after Lakshmi Mittal — the fifth most minted man on the planet — bought a 20 per cent stakeholding.

And with the Rangers board already boasting F1 tycoons Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, it means the Championship’s bottom club have a fortune of more than £22 billion — even bigger than Real Madrid.

The three wealthy directors have pledged to splash the cash to turn Rangers into the game’s next big force.

And boss Luigi de Canio will be given an open chequebook to strengthen his squad during next month’s transfer window.