Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe has reportedly ‘dismissed’ the idea of buying Liverpool but is very interested on leading a takeover bid of Manchester United.
It emerged earlier this month that Liverpool’s American owners are keen to sell and have put together a full presentation for interested parties. They have retained Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to assist with the process of selling as they gauge interest and invite offers.
FSG partner Sam Kennedy told The Boston Globe there has been a "lot of interest" in investing in the Reds. However, the Glazer family have subsequently put United up for sale as they look to end their controversial 17-year ownership of the club. Mirror Football understands the family is looking for as much as £8billion to sell arguably the biggest team in world football.
Ratcliffe is Manchester United fan – despite being a season ticket holder at Chelsea – and he has been named by Forbes as Britain’s richest man. The 70-year-old has built up an estimated £20billion net worth thanks to his multi-national chemicals company Ineos.
A report from Foot Mercato in France claims that Ratcliffe is very interested in buying United, now that they have been put up for sale, due to his support of the club and his belief that they are England’s most marketable club. This decision came after he dismissed the possibility of launching a takeover bid at their fierce rivals Liverpool.
He already owns French club Nice with continued speculation that he may invest in a high-end British club. However, Ratcliffe has previously outlined why he has not invested in a Premier League club, claiming that it did not represent value for money.
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He previously explained to The Times in 2019: "Even though clubs have those valuations today, nobody has ever paid those amounts of money. How much did Abramovich pay for Chelsea, £100 million? The Glazers, what £500 million? You can say it's worth three, four billion but no one has ever paid those sums.
"Ineos has always tried to take a sensible approach. We don't like squandering money or we wouldn’t be where we are today. It's part of our DNA, trying to spend sensibly."
Ratcliffe has previously received calls from the club’s fanbase and ex-United director Michael Knighton to get involved to take over United, but he poured cold water on the suggestion earlier this year.
Ratcliffe said at the time: "If the club had been for sale in the summer, yes, we probably would have taken a chance after what happened with Chelsea, but you can't just sit there waiting indefinitely for Manchester United to be available. Manchester United is owned by the Glazer family, whom I met. I met Joel and Avram, and they are lovely people. They're real gentlemen, and they don't want to sell. The club is owned by the father's six children and they don't want to sell."
However, that situation has now changed with the Glazer family putting United up for sale – which appears likely to have prompted a change in heart from Ratcliffe.
