On Tuesday, the business owned by British millionaire Jim Ineos formally entered the bidding for Manchester United.
Ratcliffe is eager to reach a deal, and United’s owners, the Glazer family, stated in November that they were open to hearing offers for the Premier League team.
Ratcliffe, a lifelong supporter of United who tried unsuccessfully to purchase Chelsea for £4.25 billion ($5.2 billion) last year, has been associated with the club for a long time.
Ineos’ spokesman while speaking with AFP said, “I can confirm that we have formally put ourselves into the process.”
Ratcliffe is back looking for a Premier League powerhouse after his failed takeover of Chelsea when Roman Abramovich sold the Blues to American tycoon Todd Boehly and his group.
The 70-year-interest old’s in replacing the Glazers, who are located in the United States, has not yet been addressed by United.
Ratcliffe, who was born in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, is one of the richest individuals in the country and might be more popular with the United fans than the Glazers, who have seen several fan protests throughout their tumultuous rule.
Due to the team’s recent on-field struggles, the Glazers, who completed a leveraged buyout of the club in 2005, have encountered extreme opposition from fans.
They have long been accused of pulling more money out than they have put in in terms of transfer funding, and their purchase of United also left the club with enormous debts.
By supporting the unsuccessful European Super League initiative in April 2021, which would have resulted in the team joining a breakaway competition, the Glazers infuriated United fans even more.
According to a statement from United in November, the board will “consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company”.
United’s last big prize was six years ago, and they haven’t won the Premier League since that year.
United, which had a miserable sixth-place finish in the Premier League last year, has been revitalized by manager Erik ten Hag and is currently fourth after defeating archrival Manchester City 2-1 on Saturday.
As “one of the biggest sports brands,” Ineos is eager to grow its athletic portfolio, which currently includes ownership of the cycling team Ineos Grenadiers, formerly Team Sky, as well as the French club Nice and Swiss team FC Lausanne-Sport.
Saudi Arabian investors could pose a threat to Ratcliffe after the country’s sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal suggested in November that there might be interest in purchasing United and Liverpool, which are both available for sale.
United, whose market value is over £5 billion, are receiving exclusive advice from the American financial firm Raine Group, which handled the sale of Chelsea.
Only a few hours earlier, United legend Peter Schmeichel had defended the team’s choice to set up an opulent lounge at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Ratcliffe’s entry into the bidding process followed shortly after.
The club established a bar on the main high street of Davos, a posh Swiss ski town swarming with billionaires and CEOs this week at the annual Forum, situated close to international software businesses, consultancies, and banks.
Acting ambassador, Schmeichel told AFP, “If you look at what we say about ourselves — we say that we are one of the biggest sporting brands in the world — then I think you have to back it up by having a presence in places like this.”
Schmeichel, who won five Premier League titles and the Champions League with United, said his personal preference would be for fans to buy the club, but he conceded that this was an unlikely outcome.
“I know there’s a lot of fans who are wanting a change in ownership,” he said.
“For me… would it make a difference to change the ownership? I think the only difference would be if it was owned by the fans, but I think that’s probably impossible. It’s too big.”
