Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe has declared his interest in buying a stake of Manchester United – and he wants full ownership of the Red Devils.
United are currently owned by the Glazer family though they are reportedly open to selling a minority stake of the Old Trafford outfit. It comes amid a horrendous start to the Premier League season and plenty of fan unrest towards the owners.
Ineos billionaire Ratcliffe has been linked with a takeover of Manchester United in the past and has now opened up on the chance of putting money into the club he supports.
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A spokesman for Ratcliffe told The Times: “If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer.”
Ratcliffe has already invested a large sum of money into various teams and franchises. He made a £4.25billion bid for Chelsea during the summer though Todd Boehly’s consortium ended up buying the Blues.
Ratcliffe, 69, tends to seek full control of the businesses he buys and would be willing to discuss a minority holding with the Glazers if it was part of a plan to take control at a later date.
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The spokesman added: “If something like this was possible, we would be interested in talking with a view to long-term ownership.
“This is not about the money that has been spent or not spent. Jim is looking at what can be done now and, knowing how important the club is to the city, it feels like the time is right for a reset.”
Ratcliffe’s renewed interest comes after Bloomberg reported the Glazers do not want to let go of their control of United fully.
It’s claimed United could now be valued at £5billion, having been bought by the Glazers in 2005 for £790million. They’ve held some preliminary discussions about the idea of bringing in a new investor, but there’s no guarantee they will go ahead with it.
Former defender Gary Neville has been a vocal critic of the Glazers, speaking out against them after United’s second straight defeat of the new Premier League season, a 4-0 loss at Brentford last weekend.
He told Sky Sports: “At this moment in time, it is really, really desperate. There is no leadership, there is no voice. You can’t blame an individual player or the manager, you have got to look above and look to the very top now.
“Joel Glazer’s got to get on a plane tomorrow, get over to Manchester and he has got to start and divert the issues away from the club, and tell everyone what the hell his plan is for the football club. What is he doing?”
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