Man Utd and Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘announcement plan made’ as new era set to begin | Football | Sport
Manchester United have agreed with Sir Jim Ratcliffe that they will announce his investment into the club early next week, according to reports. The British billionaire will buy a 25 per cent stake in the Red Devils to end a long-running takeover saga.
United owners the Glazers first signalled their intent to sell in November 2022. Ratcliffe and Qatari billionaire Sheikh Jassim quickly became the two frontrunners in the process.
Several rounds of bidding came and went and the Glazers did not accept a single offer. Sheikh Jassim wanted to buy United outright and offered over £5billion, which would have seen the Americans cut ties completely with the Old Trafford club.
Ratcliffe initially proposed to buy a 51 per cent controlling stake. However, he returned in October with an offer to purchase just 25 per cent, which was eventually agreed upon at board level and will see the Glazers stay in some capacity.
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Almost two months have passed but an end date appears to be near. Sky News claims an official announcement is expected to be made by early next week after an agreement was reached by both parties.
Ratcliffe’s purchase will cost around £1.25bn and will see his company INEOS take two seats in the United boardroom. He also plans to commit £245m from his own fortune to renovate United’s home stadium Old Trafford.
It is likely to cost more to make the necessary improvements to the ageing venue. Old Trafford was once the elite stadium in England but has been surpassed by a number of its rivals.
Ratcliffe is set to take control of the footballing department at United. Chief executive Richard Arnold is already confirmed to be leaving, while football director John Murtough could also be on his way.
Ratcliffe will be joined by former British Cycling chief Sir Dave Brailsford. He is the director of sport at INEOS and French side Nice, a club Ratcliffe also owns. Sky News says neither are expected to join the club’s public company board.
The focus will be on the football side as pressure mounts on manager Erik ten Hag. United’s three-game winning run in the Premier League ended with a drab 1-0 loss at Newcastle on Saturday.
The Red Devils are on the cusp of exiting the Champions League at the group stage and have put in a number of uninspiring performances both in that competition and domestically. Ten Hag still has over 18 months remaining on his contract but it remains to be seen if Ratcliffe will put his full backing behind the Dutchman once his arrival is officially confirmed.
