Report: Billionaire rejected Liverpool bid chance because he’s a Man United fan

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Sir Jim Ratcliffe opted against a bid for Liverpool because he’s a Manchester United fan, according to reports. He could now bid for the Reds Devils.

This comes from French outlet Foot Mercato. They claim that Sir Jim Ratcliffe decided not to make a bid for Liverpool because he’s a Manchester United fan.

Ratcliffe, who owns Ligue 1 side Nice through his company Ineos, tried to buy United in the summer. The Glazer family wouldn’t sell, however, and the British billionaire had to concede.

There was then talk that he’d bid for Liverpool when news broke that FSG were seeking offers. Ineos, though, quickly ruled out any chance of that. They were committed to Nice, said a statement.

Foot Mercato believe the real reason was that Ratcliffe is a United fan. Potentially, he just couldn’t face owning their arch-rivals. We’re not sure that’s the specific reason, however.

Jim Ratcliffe opts not to bid for Liverpool

Rather than this being a case of Ratcliffe not wanting to own United’s rivals, we think it’s more that he didn’t want to end any chances of owning the club of his dreams. You can’t own both, after all.

And it’s pretty clear that Ratcliffe suspected that the Glazers could sell in the summer. He tried to make it happen and wouldn’t have done that without some sort of suggestion that they’d be open to it.

If that was the case, he was correct. The Glazers are now seeking offers, much like FSG. The Telegraph quickly claimed that Ratcliffe would be bidding for United, too.

But he won’t be alone in this. United are a marginally bigger club than Liverpool and it makes them a brighter investment for those with the money to do so. The Reds will be secondary here – and it could end up hurting FSG.