Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has previously been linked with Manchester United, already has a huge sports portfolio including two football teams and Mercedes F1
Video loading
Video Unavailable
The video will auto-play soon8thCancel
play now
Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe completes Nice takeover
Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been in the news this week following Nice’s interest in Manchester United outcast Jesse Lingard.
Ratcliffe, a life-long United fan, would be one of the few people on the planet with the riches required to buy the club should the Glazer family ever decide to sell up.
But Ratcliffe, who is worth an estimated £10.9 billion through his multi-national chemical company, Ineos, has already insisted that he’s not interested in dealing with United’s current owners.
Though a move for United looks unlikely right now, it’s worth pointing out that Ratcliffe has already amassed a huge portfolio of sports teams over the years; including two football teams.
Mirror Football delves into Radcliffe’s current interests and obligations in the sporting world…
Join the debate! Do you think the Glazers will sell up at Man Utd anytime soon? Let us know here.
Mercedes F1 teams
Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought into Mercedes F1 alongside team principal Toto Wolff
(
Image:
(Getty Images)
Ratcliffe’s latest venture came just over a year ago when he bought a third of Formula One giants Mercedes.
The multi-billionaire’s company, Ineos, had previously sponsored Mercedes before he decided to take his involvement a step further.
The 69-year-old now owns an equal share of Mercedes along with Daimler AG, who dropped their ownership percentage down from 60%, and team principal and chief executive Toto Wolff.
Sevilla chief Monchi’s transfer success key to frustrating Man Utd, Chelsea and Newcastle Mikel Arteta running out of options in double Arsenal blow as Newcastle hijack £30m deal
Ineos had penned a lucrative five-year sponsorship deal worth an estimated £100m earlier in 2020 before Ratcliffe became an equal partner alongside Daimler and Wolff.
Although Lewis Hamilton was robbed of the F1 crown in dramatic fashion last month at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Mercedes clinched their eighth consecutive constructor title to cap another fine season.
FC Lausanne Sport
The multi-billionaire purchased Swiss football team FC Lausanne-Sport back in 2017
(
Image:
RvS.Media/Basile Barbey)
Ratcliffe ventured into football by striking a deal to purchase Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport back in 2017.
Despite Lausanne sitting in fifth spot in the Swiss Super League when Ineos took over, they ended up being relegated in their first season under Ratcliffe’s ownership.
Fortunately, Lausanne won promotion back to the top flight after winning the Swiss Challenge League in 2020.
Ratcliffe’s team went on to record a sixth-place finish last term, but have struggled this season and are currently second from bottom and at real risk of dropping out of Switzerland’s top league again.
OGC Nice
Ratcliffe bought into OGC Nice back in 2019
(
Image:
Icon Sports via Getty Images)
Ratcliffe sealed a £91m deal for OGC Nice in August 2019 just two years after he bought Lausanne.
Although Paris Saint-Germain seem to have an unassailable lead at the top of Ligue 1, Nice are in second spot and on course to cap a remarkable season just two-and-a-half years after Ratcliffe bought into the club.
The day-to-day running of the club is primarily overseen by Ratcliffe’s brother, Bob, who is the head of football at INEOS.
In an interview back in May 2020, Ratcliffe hinted heavily that Ineos were aiming to add a third club to their portfolio – although they were keen on finding a feeder club for Nice rather than investing in a super club like United.
Where Britain’s richest man ranks compared to Premier League’s top 10 wealthiest owners Man Utd outline Donny van de Beek stance which goes against Ralf Rangnick comments
“It is something that we will look at, potentially another club that could provide that pathway,” Ratcliffe told Get French Football News via The Guardian. “Because that is quite important to us.
“I thought it was quite interesting that Manchester City have just bought that second division Belgian club. It would be a development pathway, so we can bring players through to Nice. As far as we are concerned, Nice is at the top of the pyramid .”
Ineos Grenadiers
Ratcliffe also owns cycling team INEOS Grenadiers, formerly known as Team Sky
(
Image:
Luc Claessen)
As well as football and racing, Ratcliffe also owns the Ineos Grenadiers.
Formerly known as Team Sky, Ratcliffe took over the team back in 2019.
However, his team have struggled to replicate their previous success in the Tour de France.
Prior to Ratcliffe’s takeover, the team had won seven titles in eight editions with a host of star-studded names.
But despite improvements in 2021, Ratcliffe still hasn’t seen his side with the infamous yellow jersey.
Ineos Britannia
Ratcliffe also teamed up with Sir Ben Ainslie to launch INEOS Britannia in a bid for sailing glory
(
Image:
Lloyd Images)
Back in 2018, Ratcliffe teamed up with Olympic gold medalist Sir Ben Ainslie to form Ineos Team UK in a bid to clinch the America’s Cup in 2021.
It’s been reported that Ratcliffe has personally backed the project to the tune of over £100m so far – but they came up short in their bid to do so.
The team, now known as Ineos Britannia, has been boosted ahead of their bid for glory by Ratcliffe’s link-up with Mercedes.
At the presentation of their new team back in October last year, it was revealed that the America’s Cup sailing team would link up with Mercedes-AMG F1 Applied Science.
He even got Mercedes principal Wolff on board for the unveiling of the announcement; though it remains to be seen if the quirky marriage between F1 and sailing will help spur Ineos Britannia to glory.
read more
Bruno Fernandes issues response to Man Utd letting “special” Anthony Martial leave
read more
Ralf Rangnick facing Man Utd transfer headache as double loan conundrum emerges
