Boyhood Manchester United fan and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to buy a stake in the club, with a view to taking full control if the Glazers welcome new investment. News of the 69-year-old’s interest follows a Bloomberg report that the Glazer family are willing to sell a minority stake in the club. The Lancashire-born Ratcliffe, who owns French side Nice, Swiss club Lausanne-Sport and Ineos Grenadiers cycling team,the majority shareholder of chemical group Ineos, is a boyhood fan of the club. Also worthy of note that Ineos has a partnership with the Mercedes F1 team.
In May, Ratcliffe made an unsuccessful £4.25bn offer to buy Chelsea after owner Roman Abramovich put the London club up for sale.
Manchester United’s woeful start to the new Premier League season has intensified criticism of the Glazers and their perceived lack of investment in the team. The club has struggled since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 and has not won a trophy since 2017.
There have been multiple protests against the Glazers’ ownership in recent years, including one in May 2021 which caused the Red Devils’ home league match against Liverpool to be postponed and the club’s fans are planning another protest against the American family ahead of their upcoming meeting with their Anfield rivals in the Northwest Derby on Monday at Old Trafford.