Sir Jim Ratcliffe eyes Manchester United takeover

INEOS owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has expressed his desire to purchase Manchester United from the Glazers.

After a controversial 17 years with the north-west club, the Americans could look set to leave as they face increasing pressure from the fans.

In recent years, fans of the club have come to breaking point with the Tampa Bay Bucaneers owners as their failure to get back to the heights that were reached under Sir Alex Ferguson, continues.

Many boiling points have also come from seeing the success of the NFL team, who won the 2021 SuperBowl after major investment from the family.

Another tipping point was last weekend’s 4-0 defeat to Brentford in the Premier League, sparking mass outrage in the stands and social media.

Whilst this fractured relationship between the club and the fans has been going on for a few years now, it could all look to change.

The English billionaire, who owns Ligue 1 club OGC Nice, is looking to bring former players of the club onto his team to secure a takeover for ‘The Red Devils’, a team that also includes former cycling coach Sir Dave Brailsford.

He did attempt to buy Chelsea, in the summer, promising a £1.75bn investment over ten years to change the squad and revamp Stamford Bridge after Roman Abramovich put the club for sale, following his sanctions from the UK Government.

The supposed £4.25bn takeover of ‘The Blues’ didn’t go through, however, after Red Sox owner Todd Boehly secured the club with the same price.

Born in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, Ratcliffe grew up as a Manchester United fan, but held a season ticket at Chelsea during his adult years which has led to a split allegiance between the two giants.

With skin in the game, his aforementioned ownership of Nice in France and FC Laussane-Sport in Switzerland shows he has definite pedigree when it comes to football, even investing great amounts to produce young talent and sign first-team players.

His reported net-worth of £12bn would make him an eye-watering candidate for most Premier League club, his portfolio also expands to chemical engineering as CEO of INEOS, cycling with INEOS Grenadiers, and FORMULA 1 with Mercedes-AMG Petronas.

It’s an exciting proposition for United fans, a billionaire who has a passion for sport in general, already owns a network of clubs, and has a track record of investing and making profit for his businesses.

A takeover that could most certainly bring Manchester United back to the big time.

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