INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe failed at buying two other clubs before his attempt to purchase Manchester United, which is reportedly 'dead in the water' after the minority shareholders gave the current United board an ultimatum.
INEOS own Ligue 1 side Nice and Swiss club FC Laussane Sport and have attempted to expand their portfolio with offers to purchase some of European football's biggest teams, most notably Chelsea and Barcelona. Before entering the race to buy United from the Glazer family, Ratcliffe and INEOS were in the running for Chelsea when Roman Abramovich put the club up for sale last year after he was sanctioned by the UK government due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
However, they were "late" in making an offer and by the time they did Todd Boehly and his Clearlake Capital consortium had virtually "wrapped up" a deal. "There's always stuff going on at INEOS so, if I am buying, say, a business in China, Chelsea coming up does not automatically go to the top of my list of priorities," Ratcliffe said in a new book entitled 'Grit, Rigour & Humour: The INEOS Story'.
