INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani both want to complete their takeover of Premier League club Manchester United from the Glazers
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has confirmed he is still in the race to buy Manchester United, despite speculation in Qatar to the contrary.
INEOS chief Ratcliffe is locked in a takeover battle with Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani after the Glazers sold the club in November. Both sides have submitted final bids, with the preferred bidder expected to be named soon.
It claimed Sheikh Jassim, the favorite to win the takeover race, was “hours” from being named the preferred bidder. But Ratcliffe has dismissed these rumours, insisting his offer is exactly what this “special” club needs.
United were the dominant club of English football when the Glazers, wildly unpopular with supporters, bought them in 2005. They have not won a Premier League title for a decade, while their last Champions League victory came in 2008.
United fans desperately need manager Erik ten Hag to lead them to glory and Ratcliffe believes he is the right owner to oversee that renaissance. The billionaire provided an update on the takeover saga to The Sun.
Ratcliffe stated he met with the Glazers “a few times”. But United’s new owners-to-be said: “I’ve signed a non-disclosure agreement, so I can’t say too much. But there’s still a process – and we’re a work in progress.”
He added: “We’ve had a good offer and we’ve met with the Glazers a few times. We’ve had good discussions with them. We still really want to do it. And we’re going to do it for the right reasons. But in the end it’s their decision not theirs. we.”
Sheikh Jassim wants to buy 100 per cent of United and pay off their debt, which is estimated to be worth more than £500 million. It’s believed Ratcliffe would prefer to buy a controlling stake in the club and could keep the Glazers on the board.
That could be a problem, as United fans are desperate to sell the Glazers. Co-owners Joel and Avram Glazer were the closest to the club and wanted to stay on, while siblings Bryan, Darcie, Edward and Joel were more than happy to sell.
Ratcliffe went on to claim United was “a very special and rare art”. Some fans worried Ratcliffe would change the Old Trafford name to include the INEOS branding, but he promised not to – claiming it would be “heresy”.
Ratcliffe also explained why he and partner INEOS wanted to buy United. He said: “This is one of our main interests – getting the boys in the pub and football is one of the two or three subjects we’ve talked about.
“This is football. We have worked very hard all our lives. Now we have made quite a bit of money so you can have fun, as long as it makes sense economically.”
