The Glazers continue to hold on but new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe assumes control of football matters, injecting much-needed optimism into Old Trafford. With the 13-month sale saga finally over, Telegraph Sport details the main characters in Manchester United’s next act:
Lead actors
Sir Jim Ratcliffe – co-owner taking control of sporting matters
Finally, Britain’s most ambitious billionaire sports investor has secured his most sought-after prize. Ratcliffe, who has previously been burned in attempts to buy a Premier League giant, played a long and this time amiable game. With no-one willing to match the Glazers’ £6bn valuation, Ratcliffe adapted his offer over the summer, agreeing to buy 25 per cent on the condition that he assume control of the sport instead. United have been the jewel in the sporting crown for a figure who has presided over a sports land grab for just over five years.
For the first 20 years of its existence, no one other than business junkies had even heard of chemical multinational Ineos, let alone its owner. But Ratcliffe’s profile has skyrocketed with acquisitions including Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup team, Team Sky, Ligue 1 Nice, Eliud Kipchoge’s sub-two-hour marathon campaign, an investment in the All Blacks and a stake in Mercedes F1.
The son of a carpenter and office worker who grew up on a council estate in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, Ratcliffe is an unapologetic industrialist and engineer who is proud of his lifelong support for United. The man had clashed with unions in Grangemouth, leaving little time for environmental campaigners in Yorkshire to protest drilling efforts in parts of the county in 2019.
A history of difficult deal-making has equipped Ratcliffe well for his 13-month saga with the Glazers. By the summer he realized he could realistically get a deal only by entering into partnership. But in return for a 25 per cent discount deal worth £1.24bn, Ratcliffe retains full control of football
Sir David Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc – new football board members
Ratcliffe will turn to two of the most senior figures in the sporting empire as he plans how to transform United. Two key figures at Ineos will be given board member roles on the football side as part of a major overhaul of operations that will ramp up in the summer.
Brailsford is the man who has brought “marginal gains” to British Cycling, but he is the man who has overseen Ineos Sport since 2021 and has already been spotted on fact-finding missions at Carrington.
Ratcliffe’s confidence in Brailsford has helped the performance specialist return to the top following a controversial period during his heyday in charge that raised questions of integrity for British Cycling. Brailsford’s philosophy at Ineos is to share best practice across different sports to achieve peak performance. “Get nutrition,” he said at the Tour de France over the summer. “You can take the best lessons from that and transfer that to football or the sailing team.”
Jean Claude Blanc, chief executive of Ineos Sport, is a more recent addition and his arrival last December coincides with a sharp rise in Nice’s fortunes in Ligue 1. While Brailsford’s background is in other sports, Blanc is an experienced football administrator, having been a former football manager. Marketing manager of Paris Saint-Germain and former CEO of Juventus.
John Reece and Rob Nevin – new company board members
Reece is Ratcliffe’s top earner as finance director at Ineos. Reece joined the chemicals conglomerate in 2000, less than two years after its founding, and played a key role in the company’s tremendous success by helping Ineos acquire two chemicals businesses from BP for $5 billion in 2021.
Reece derives his fortune from a minority stake in Ineos and according to Forbes his fortune is worth £6bn. Nevin, meanwhile, is chairman of Ineos Sport and was part of the group, along with Brailsford and Claude Blanc, that visited Old Trafford in March. He previously served as chief operating officer and CEO of Ineos Nitriles.
Nevin, who has 40 years of commercial experience in the petrochemical industry, joined BP in 1981 as a graduate engineer and spent more than half of his career producing at various BP facilities.
Joel Glazer – executive co-chairman and owner
The new Ratcliffe era marks the beginning of a more harmonious relationship with the club’s fan base, while the Glazers’ front-line roles are no longer there. However, while the other siblings fade into the background as sleeping partners, Joel, 56, will likely want to be closest to operational matters, albeit on a more marginal basis.
Ratcliffe may find Joel a more relevant point of contact than Avram. He is much more loved by some because he has previously taken on the responsibility of approving major player deals and is seen as one of the brothers most loyal to United.
Joel, who runs club affairs from his office in Washington DC, is a regular at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but never at Old Trafford. Promised efforts to increase fan dialogue since the collapse of the Super League conspiracy have also been half-hearted.
“We are also aware that we need to communicate better with you, our fans, because you will always be at the heart of the club,” he wrote in 2021, when fan anger was at its peak.
Supporting actors
Glaziers
Avram often stood shoulder to shoulder with Joel at United as the brothers inherited their sporting empire from father Malcolm. Kevin, Bryan, Edward and Darcie will also be handsomely rewarded as they all fade into the background as they count their profits. The Glazers, who will now largely remain in the background at the club, will receive around £650 million from the sale of Class B shares.
executive team
The departure of Richard Arnold as CEO and his interim replacement by United’s general counsel Patrick Stewart was Ratcliffe’s intention weeks before the deal was announced. Blanc and Brailsford will now have the most day-to-day influence in the new structure, but it is not yet known whether a new long-term CEO will be brought in.
sporting directors
John Murtough expects to play a transitional role despite uncertainty surrounding the director of football position. Telegraph Sport report that Crystal Palace’s Dougie Freedman, former Tottenham recruitment chief Paul Mitchell, Atalanta’s Lee Congerton, former AC Milan duo Paolo Maldini and Atlético Madrid’s Ricky Massara and Andrea Berta are being considered for roles at the club.
Coaches and players
United have spent more than £400 million under Erik ten Hag with mixed results, but Ratcliffe has refused to rush into any decisions with the January window coming to an end while the Premier League is still assessing his reputation. Ten Hag has the support of Ineos in the short term. Sorting out the future of England winger Jadon Sancho, who has been exiled since the beginning of September following a falling out with Ten Hag, will also quickly become a priority.
Deal makers and breakers
Colin Neville and his New York-based colleagues at Raine are set to part with millions to broker the deal, but the Premier League’s test of directors and owners is expected to spend at least another month assessing Ratcliffe’s suitability as a Premier League investor. With Nice flying high, there may also be a need for a board restructuring at the French club to ensure Ineos can comply with UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules for Europe next season.