For some years back, they have been some competition as to who would win the ownership of Manchester United.
Fortunately, the Manchester United ownership saga has finally reached a major milestone, with the founder of Ineos and chief executive officer, Sir Jim Ratcliffe completing the purchase of a 25 percent stake in the club.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, alongside Ineos sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford, will reportedly take control of footballing matters at the club, while the Glazers retain their majority control.
Sir Jim has finally completed a deal worth £1.3 billion with the Glazer family to acquire a 25 percent stake in Manchester United.
Ratcliffe, the CEO of petrochemicals company Ineos, was officially unveiled as a minority owner at United, bringing an end to the protracted 13-month saga that began last November when the Glazers announced they would be willing to listen to offers for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
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Manchester United takeover saga
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to step into the boardroom at Old Trafford after agreeing to purchase a 25 percent stake in the club.
Just over a year after the Glazer family announced a strategic review into their ownership, Sir Jim opted to revise his initial plan for a complete takeover and the INEOS founder has now secured a £1.25 billion deal to take up 25 percent of the shares at Manchester United. It marks the end of a 13-month saga since November.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim were, for a long while, the two front-runners in the process, and it had developed to the point whether either party could have become the club’s outright owner.
However, the Qatari banker decided to withdraw his interest after becoming disillusioned with talks and the lofty £6 billion valuation the Glazers put on the club.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe expressed an interest in investing in United back in January and faced competition from Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani, who had a bid reported to be worth around £5bn to buy the club outright rejected before withdrawing from the process.
That withdrawal left the path clear for sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of the UK’s richest men and a boyhood United fan, to negotiate a deal that would allow him and Brailsford to take control and take charge of football matters while leaving the Glazers with a majority stake.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, in one of his statements, said: “As a local boy and a lifelong supporter of the Club, I am very pleased that we have been able to agree a deal with the Manchester United Board that delegates this management responsibility of the football operations of the Club.
Whilst the commercial success of the Club has ensured there have always been available funds to win trophies at the highest level, this potential has not been fully unlocked in recent times.
“We will bring the global knowledge, expertise, and talent from the wider INEOS Sport group to help drive further improvement at the Club, while also providing funds intended to enable future investment into Old Trafford.
“We are here for the long term and recognize that a lot of challenges and hard work lie ahead, which we will approach with rigor, professionalism, and passion.
We are committed to working with everyone at the Club – the Board, staff, players and fans – to help drive the club forward.
“Our shared ambition is clear: we all want to see Manchester United back where we belong, at the very top of English, European and world football.”
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Can this deal bring about a breakthrough in Manchester United?
Lifelong United supporter Sir Ratcliffe will bring with him plenty of sports administration experience – from owning French Ligue 1 side Nice, the INEOS Grenadiers elite cycling team, the Britannia sailing team fronted by Sir Ben Ainslie as well as a holding in Formula One with Mercedes.
Along with structural change, it is expected that Ratcliffe will look to bring in some fresh personnel.
Sir Dave Brailsford, former performance director for British Cycling and current director of sport for INEOS, is reported to be in line for a key role at Old Trafford – as is INEOS Sport chief executive Jean-Claude Blanc, who has also held key positions with Juventus and Paris St. Germain.
Manchester United’s director of football, currently John Murtough, is another role that has been suggested could be under review once the INEOS deal is formally approved.
Some questions have been raised about whether Ten Hag will remain at Manchester United after this deal is sealed.
United suffered a 13th defeat of a so-far uninspiring campaign when beaten 2:0 at West Ham on Saturday – the most they have lost before Christmas since 1931.
Despite being well off the pace in the Premier League and failing to reach the knockout stage of the Champions League, Dutchman Ten Hag insists he can turn things around again.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has vowed to return United to “the very top of English, European and world football” – which means results will either have to improve or INEOS could well implement some of that “delegated responsibility” in the dugout.
Ten Hag has a task ahead of him, and that task is working hard to improve the team to secure his place at Old Trafford.
Manchester United field may also be renovated as a result of this new progress.
As well as refurbishing the debt-laden club’s infrastructure under the agreement, INEOS will inject £158m (USD 200m) to upgrade Old Trafford.
The ongoing renovations are much needed, with reports of roof leaks and a feeling of outdated concourses which leaves United behind many of their Premier League rivals (not to mention over at the Etihad Stadium).
Ratcliffe’s pledge to see United competing with the best on the pitch again is also not likely to come cheap in the transfer market or be a quick fix and neither will be unifying the fan base once again on the back of what MUST feel has been “18 years of debt, decay and mismanagement”.
Who is Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Sir James Arthur Ratcliffe FIChemE born on 18 October 1952, is a British billionaire, chemical engineer, and businessman.
Ratcliffe is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the INEOS chemicals group, which he founded in 1998. The company is estimated to have had a turnover of $65 billion in 2021.
He does not have a high public profile, and was once described by The Sunday Times as “publicity shy”. In May 2018, Ratcliffe was the richest person in the UK, with a net worth of £21.05 billion.
As of May 2023, The Sunday Times Rich List 2023 estimated his net worth at £29.688 billion, making him the second-wealthiest figure in the UK. In September 2020, Ratcliffe officially changed his tax residence from Hampshire to Monaco, a move that it is estimated will save him £4 billion in tax.
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