British businessman and Chairman of INEOS, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, officially acquired 25 percent of Manchester United shares. Man United conveyed the news through an official announcement at the club on Sunday (24/12/2023).
Sir Jamie Ratcliffe will also provide additional funds of £237 million for investment in Old Trafford. In return, Sir Jamie Ratcliffe, through the company INEOS, will take over control of the club’s operations, including all aspects of men’s and women’s football and the academy.
Sky Sports reports that this deal is still awaiting approval from the Premier League, a process that will take around six to eight weeks. “As a native and lifelong fan of the club, I am very pleased that we have reached an agreement with the Manchester United Board which hands over management responsibility for the club’s football operations to us,” said Sir Jim Ratcliffe, quoted from the Man United website.
“While the club’s commercial success has ensured there are funds available 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 of the wider INEO Sport group to help drive further improvements at the club and also provide funding to enable future investment into Old Trafford,” he said.
“We are here for the long term and recognize that there are many challenges and hard work ahead which we will face with rigor, professionalism and passion. We are committed to working with everyone at the club, the board, staff, players and fans to help moving the club forward,” he said. “Our ambition is clear, we all want to see Manchester United return to its rightful place, at the top of English, European and world football,” said Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The announcement of the acquisition of a minority stake in Man United also ends talks over the past year about taking over the club. The Glazer family as club owners stated that they would sell Man United in November 2022. They received a fantastic offer from the Qatari conglomerate, Sheikh Jassim. Sheikh Jassim made an offer of five billion pounds sterling or six billion US dollars to buy Man United. This amount is below the price set by the Glazer family, which is less than £6 billion.
European transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, had reported that Sheikh Jassim also provided an investment package worth more than 8 billion US dollars. Sheikh Jassim wants to buy Man United in full cash, without debt, and erase all the old debts of the club based at Old Trafford Stadium. However, the Glazer family rejected this tempting offer and in the end they accepted Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s proposal to buy 25 percent of the club’s shares.
