Britain's richest man rules out making bid for Liverpool

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Britain's richest man rules out making bid for Liverpool

Ineos, founded by British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, have ruled out investing in Liverpool or any other Premier League club.

Ratcliffe previously failed with a bid to buy Chelsea and was told by Manchester United's owners that the club was not for sale after hinting at interest in taking over.

Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group announced on Monday that they were open to potential investment from elsewhere, citing a desire to ensure the best interests of the club were met going forward.

FSG added that they remain committed to the success of Liverpool, both on and off the pitch, but the club's relative lack of spending power has highlighted a potential need for further investment.

But a statement from Ineos has ruled out any hope that the multinational chemical company will look to invest in Liverpool, and instead they confirmed that the prospect of growth in Ligue 1 with Nice - the club Ratcliffe bought for an estimated €100m in 2019 - has superseded a desire to invest in England.

"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," a spokesperson said.

"This would represent much better value for our investment than buying one of the top tier Premier League clubs."

Nice showed their desire to strengthen their squad with high-profile signings over the summer, bringing in the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Kasper Schmeichel and Ross Barkley. They have endured an indifferent start to the campaign though, and currently sit tenth in the Ligue 1 table.

Ineos are also involved with Swiss outfit FC Lausanne-Sport and work closely with the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 team.

Other potential investors in Liverpool include New York-based private investment firm RedBird Capital Partners, who bought a 10% stake of the club in 2021, and an unnamed Middle Eastern group, who reportedly bid £3bn for the Reds shortly before plans for a breakway European Super League were announced.