Sir Jim Ratcliffe rules out Liverpool takeover

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his company INEOS have confirmed that they have no plans to buy Liverpool.

Earlier this week, Liverpool's current owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) – led by John W Henry – were alleged to have put the club up for sale.

However, in a statement to The Athletic, FSG said: "There have been a number of recent changes of ownership and rumours of changes in ownership at EPL clubs and inevitably we are asked regularly about Fenway Sports Group's ownership in Liverpool.

"FSG has frequently received expressions of interest from third parties seeking to become shareholders in Liverpool. FSG has said before that under the right terms and conditions we would consider new shareholders if it was in the best interests of Liverpool as a club.

"FSG remains fully committed to the success of Liverpool, both on and off the pitch."

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A recent report claims that Henry would be prepared to sell Liverpool if they received an offer of £4bn, and Ratcliffe has been linked with a potential bid for the Merseysiders.

The 70-year-old, who is regarded by Forbes as Britain's richest man, is the owner of global chemicals company INEOS and Ligue 1 outfit Nice, and he submitted a bid in the region of £4.25bn bid to buy Chelsea earlier this year.

Ratcliffe has also emerged as a contender to purchase Manchester United from the Glazer family, but the Manchester-born billionaire has ruled himself out the running to buy Liverpool or any other Premier League club as he and his company no longer see value in buying a English top-flight team.

A statement from an INEOS spokesperson to The Telegraph read: "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."

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Since FSG replaced George N. Gillett, Jr. and Tom Hicks at the helm at Anfield in 2010, Liverpool have won a total of eight trophies, including their first Premier League title in the 2019-20 campaign.

The Reds have also lifted the Champions League, two EFL Cups, the FA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the Club World Cup and the Community Shield during this period.

Liverpool's owners have also overseen a £110m investment to redevelop the Main Stand at Anfield, while an £80m plan to upgrade the Anfield Road Stand – which will see the stadium's capacity increase to 61,000 – is scheduled to be completed before the beginning of next season.

Jurgen Klopp's side are currently languishing in eighth place in the Premier League table, seven points behind the top four and 15 points adrift of league leaders Arsenal.