British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has poured cold water on reports he might invest at Liverpool FC after Fenway Sports Group (FSG) outlined their plans to sell the Premier League club.
Ratcliffe held talks with the Glazers after expressing a desire to purchase Manchester United, following on from a failed bid to buy Chelsea this summer. FSG are, meanwhile, open to a full-blown takeover at Anfield or at the very least attracting new shareholders.
It comes after all three Premier League giants were involved in shelved plans for a controversial European Super League (ESL) and as Liverpool aim to generate enough funds to compete better financially at the Premier League summit. But that will not come through Ratcliffe's billions.
READ MORE: Neville calls out The Glazer family
Instead, the 69-year-old and his Ineos investment team will focus on their ownership at OGC Nice. They purchased the French Ligue 1 contenders in 2019 and it remains a flagship for their sporting enterprise.
A spokesperson for Ratcliffe's company Ineos said: "Our position has developed, and we are now focusing efforts in Nice and raising 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."
Speaking about summer interest in United last month, Sir Jim added: "Manchester United is owned by the Glazer family, whom I have met. They don't want to sell it.
"If it had been for sale in the summer then, yes, we would have probably had a go following on from the Chelsea thing, but we can't sit around hoping that one day Manchester United will become available. We have an exciting sporting franchise [including OGC Nice]."
Bloomberg Billionaires Index listed Ratcliffe as the second richest person in the UK back in April 2020 - while they also made him the 55th richest person on the planet at that same time. As such, Ratcliffe is one person who could genuinely finance a takeover at elite European clubs such as United and Liverpool.
MORE TO READ:
