Manchester United will finally see an end to their takeover saga after many months of bidding and confusion. Two competitors heavily fought to own the club: the Qatari-backed Sheikh Jassim and the INEOS founder and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
And now Sheikh Jassim has left talks after another rejection and Sir Jim Ratcliffe has restructured his deal to become the lone favorite to own the huge club. And United fans will be happy to know their new owner is a massive fan of the club as well.
Revealing the club Sir Jim Ratcliffe supports
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a local boy born in Failsworth, Manchester, and is allegedly a lifelong fan of Manchester United from his childhood days. His home was only 10 miles away from the iconic Old Trafford Stadium. In fact, he reportedly attended the 1999 UCL final win over Bayern Munich at Camp Nou.
Ratcliffe owns the renowned chemical company Ineos and also owns another club in Ligue 1 called OGC Nice and another in Switzerland called Lausanne-Sport. Ratcliffe and Ineos also back cycling team Ineos Grenadiers. According to a 2022 report by Forbes, the British businessman is worth $16.3 billion.
Despite him supporting United from childhood, he became a Chelsea fan when he moved to London, even owning season tickets to their games. He also tried to buy the London-based club when they were being sold but failed to reach Todd Boehly’s consortium.
So he then entered the race to buy United, and it seems he has finally won in his lifelong pursuit. It is important to note that even his rival, Sheikh Jassim, claimed to be a Manchester United fan.
Ratcliffe to gain control of United’s footballing operations
Ratcliffe restructured his deal to make sure the Glazers choose him over Jassim, as he knew the owners wanted to be a part of the club.
Instead of a full takeover or even buying all the Glazer’s shares of the club, Ratcliffe will only own 25 percent of the club for a fee between ÂŁ1.35 and 1.5 billion.
While the Glazers will stay at the club as minority owners, a special clause will be inserted to hand over sporting decisions to the INEOS team under Ratcliffe. This means the club’s transfer strategy, management, and on-the-field decisions would be taken by him. He may also have the option to eventually take full control of the club.
The deal is yet to be accepted, with a meeting between the board members of the club taking place soon, where they will vote to ratify the deal. If it does happen, Manchester United will enter a new era in their history.
