Manchester United fans have welcomed the news that Sir Jim Ratcliffe wishes to buy the club and taken to social media to claim they are in an ‘anyone but the Glazers mode’.
Sportsmail revealed on Wednesday that the Glazer family were considering selling a minority stake in Manchester United football club and that they had held preliminary discussions about the possibility of bringing in a new investor.
As a result, English billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe came out and said he would be very interesting in buying United if current owners were to put the Premier League club up for sale.
The Glazers are coming under increasing pressure to sell their shares at Manchester United
The Glazer family have also entered into exclusive talks with US private equity firm Apollo about the possibility of selling a minority stake in United.
The family are not prepared to cede control of the club — Avram and Joel are expected to keep their shares and oversee the day-to-day running of Old Trafford — other family members are understood to want out.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Ratcliffe has said that the businessman views himself as a ‘potential buyer’ of the Red Devils and that he would like to take full control of the club in the future.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to buy a stake in Premier League club Manchester United
A self-confessed Manchester United fan, Ratcliffe wants to purchase the struggling club
The 69-year-old recently tried to purchase Chelsea but saw his late bid turned down as current owner Todd Boehly and his consortium took ownership of the London club.
Ratcliffe tabled a last-minute £4.25billion offer to purchase the Stamford Bridge side in May but now aims to become Manchester United owner after registering his interest.
As a result, Manchester United fans have welcomed the news that Ratcliffe is interested in buying the club and taken to social media to share their delight.
One fan Tweeted saying: ‘Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Boyhood Manchester United fan. Would do what’s right for the FOOTBALL CLUB. Net worth: $19bn Absolutely PERFECT!’.
Another Manchester United supporter added: ‘Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Please save our club. #SaveUsSirJim’.
While one fan wrote: ‘The Positives of Sir Jim Ratcliffe: – Wants to build the best club in the world – Man Utd Fan – Has no ‘profits’ to make – Owns OGC Nice (Potential feeder club) – Britain’s Richest Man ($13-28bn) We need to build him a statue if his takeover attempt succeeds.’
Another supporter shared the following Tweet: ‘Sir Jim Ratcliffe please rescue Manchester United from the parasitic vermin Glazers’.
While one wrote: ‘Manchester United owners (Glazer b*******) please f*** off. We have a British knight to the rescue.’
However, some United fans have taken to social media to say they would take ‘anyone’ over the Glazers and insisted they didn’t mind if it was Ratcliffe or another investor.
One fan wrote: ‘Yes. Go for it. We are now at an ‘Anyone but the Glazers’ mode’ while another one added: ‘I DON’T CARE LITERALLY ANYONE ELSE BUT THE GLAZERS’.
One fan said: ‘We will back him [Ratcliffe].. Anyone but the the Glazers…’. While another wrote: ‘Ratcliffe has a couple of red flags for sure, but currently we are anyone but Glazers.’
Some fans even said they would welcome Elon Musk at the helm after the world’s richest man sent shockwaves through social media by tweeting ‘he’s buying Manchester United’.
However, he confirmed it was a joke by saying: ‘No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not buying any sports teams. Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U. They were my fav team as a kid.’
Another fan celebrated the potential departure of the Glazers by writing: ‘When the Glazers leave, we’re gonna party like it’s 1999’.
However, several other fans have said they are reluctant to get excited until they get confirmation the club has been sold.
One fan wrote: ‘Sorry but I’ll only get excited once I see the words ‘Man Utd sold to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’. Until then nothing changes! No signings, Glazers leeching cash and sub-standard players still getting picked!’.
Another added: ‘The glazers willing to sell is HUGE news, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves! All UNITED’.