Jim Ratcliffe no longer interested in buying Chelsea, or any English club

Britain’s richest man, Jim Ratcliffe, is no longer interested in buying Chelsea. The man worth more than €24 billion has balked at the valuations of clubs in England and has turned his attentions elsewhere in search of better value. His brother, Robert, has been in Southern France this week, sniffing around OGC Nice on the Côte d’Azur.

The brothers’ intentions were also confirmed in an interview with the local newspaper, declaring that they’re not interested in buying any English club at this point.

“We looked at a fair amount of clubs. It was a rumour that made a lot of noise. In the Premier League, there are 6 top clubs that are worth billions of pounds. That is massively inflated vis-à-vis commercial value. There are sellers, but far less buyers in England. We are not interested in buying an English club.”

-Robert Ratcliffe; source: Nice-Matin via Simon Johnson

Abramovich’s commitment to Chelsea has been called into question this season thanks to his visa situation, even greater lack of visibility than usual, and the shelving of the stadium re-build plans. But Chelsea sources, including chairman Bruce Buck maintain that the owner is fully commited and invested. The Ratcliffe rumors never seemed that serious, and now it looks like we can fully discard them.