Britain's Richest Man Rules Out Premier League Takeover After Newcastle & Chelsea Links

Following the announcement of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's expansion into Formula One, Britain's richest man has ruled himself out of a takeover at a Premier League club.

Ratcliffe's petrochemicals firm Ineos purchased French football club Nice for £88m and now boasts a portfolio across sport which covers running, cycling, and Formula One as well as football. 

Preceding his takeover at Nice in France, the billionaire was loosely rumoured to be evaluating Premier League clubs, and had been linked to both Chelsea and Newcastle. 

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Speaking to BBC Sport, however, Ratcliffe has revealed that a move into English football is not on the cards.

He said: "We’re very comfortable with where we are with Nice, actually.

"It's going quite well. It's been quite interesting. We’re still learning, and it’s quite a challenging league in France with some very talented players."


Former ​Arsenal man Patrick Vieira is currently managing Les Aiglons as they sit mid-table in 11th. 


Premier League clubs Chelsea and Newcastle were among those supposedly on the radar of Ratcliffe - who has a reported net worth of close to £9bn. 

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While Roman Abramovich has made no plans publicly to sell Chelsea, Newcastle are on the market with controversial owner Mike Ashley valuing the Magpies at upwards of £300m.


While Ratcliffe may not be the man to take control of Newcastle, there has been talk of a Saudi-backed takeover in recent weeks. A £340m deal was said to be 'days' away from being completed back in January, while ​a 'close friend' of Kim Kardashian West, Carla DiBello, is said to be 'advising' on the proposed purchase.


Source : 90min