Britain's richest man has no intention of launching a takeover bid for Manchester United after deciding against attempting to buy Liverpool.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the INEOS chief executive, has made no secret of his desire to own a Premier League club and failed with an offer in the region of £4billion to buy Chelsea earlier this year. Due to his eye-watering net worth of roughly £10bn, Ratcliffe is one of a select group of individuals who could meet Fenway Sports Group's £4bn asking price for Liverpool.
The American sports investment company is open to offers for the Reds after 12 years of ownership. However, Ratcliffe ruled himself out of the running to take over on Tuesday, as he is instead focussed on transforming Nice into a European heavyweight.
A spokesperson for the 70-year-old told the Daily Telegraph : "Our position has developed since the summer and we are now focusing our efforts in Nice and raising our ambitions for the club to make them into a top-tier club in France to compete with PSG. This would represent much better value for our investment than buying one of the top-tier Premier League clubs."
While the statement was in response to the speculation surrounding Liverpool, the end of it appears to rule out Ratcliffe attempting to take over any "top-tier" club in the Premier League, which encompasses 20-time English champions United. His comments on "value" is pertinent given the whopping £9bn price tag the Glazer family have slapped on the Red Devils.
Ratcliffe has previously flirted with the idea of an Old Trafford takeover but, in October, distanced himself from a potential bid by reaffirming the fact the Glazers "don't want to sell". Speaking at a Financial Times Live event, he said: "Manchester United is owned by the Glazer family. I have met Joel and Avram. They are the nicest people, I have to say, proper gentlemen.
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"They don't want to sell it [the club]. It's owned by the six children of the father [Malcolm]. If it had been for sale in the summer, yes we would probably have had a go following on from the Chelsea thing. But we can't sit around hoping one day Manchester United will become available."
While Ratcliffe declared INEOS "should have a premier club" on its books, he added: "Nice has got a very interesting history. We'll have a look at what we might be able to do with Nice." INEOS has owned Nice since 2019, when it completed an £89million takeover.
Ratcliffe is a United fan but has held a season ticket at Stamford Bridge. His decision not to pursue a Liverpool takeover means his club loyalties will not be divided further.
