Sir Jim Ratcliffe has completed the deal to buy a minority stake in Manchester United. The British billionaire spent just over £1bn to buy 25 per cent of the club and take control of its football operations. It will provide a further $300m (£237m) for infrastructure investment at Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe’s arrival will shed light on Erik ten Hag’s future. While the club is in a state of flux, there is no structure in place to sack the manager and Ratcliffe will have to decide whether to keep his faith in the Dutchman after a disastrous first half of the season. United exited Europe after finishing last in their Champions League group and will play Boxing Day at home to Aston Villa, who sit eighth in the Premier League. They failed to score in their last four matches.
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Ineos sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford is set to hold talks with key United staff and will make decisions from now on, including Ten Hag. Brailsford will have a key role, but it remains to be seen whether he will take over as United’s director of football from John Murtough. The Guardian understands Murtough has no intention of leaving and could accept a different role if Brailsford decides to replace him. High on Ratcliffe’s priority list will be replacing the departing Richard Arnold as chief executive. Jean-Claude Blanc, chief executive of Ratcliffe’s Ineos Sport, is the favorite to succeed Arnold.
Ratcliffe used Trawlers Limited, a company named after the famous Eric Cantona quote, to make the purchase. He said: “As a local boy and lifelong supporter of the club, I am delighted that we have been able to reach an agreement with the Manchester United board which transfers management responsibility for the club’s football operations to us. “The commercial success of the club has ensured that there are always funds available to win trophies at the highest level. However, this potential has not been fully revealed recently.
“We will bring global knowledge, expertise and talent from the wider Ineos Sport group to help deliver further development at the club, while also providing funds to enable future investment at Old Trafford.
“We are here for the long term and recognize that there are many challenges and hard work ahead of us, which we will approach with rigor, professionalism and passion. We are committed to working with everyone at the club – board, staff, players and fans – to help move the club forward.
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“Our common ambition is clear: we all want to see Manchester United back where we belong, at the top of English, European and world football.”
Ratcliffe, who had previously tried to buy Chelsea, wanted to buy the majority of United from the Glazers, but had to settle for a quarter of the club. The deal is said to be financed debt-free and is subject to Premier League approval. 200 million dollars of the 300 million dollar Old Trafford investment will be paid upon completion of the transaction, and the remainder will be paid by the end of 2024. Ineos will receive two seats on the board.
The Glazers signaled 13 months ago that they were “initiating a process to explore strategic alternatives” and abandoned a full sale. Executive co-chairmen Avram Glazer and Joel Glazer said: “Sir Jim and Ineos bring a wealth of commercial experience as well as a significant financial commitment to the club. Additionally, through Ineos Sport, Manchester United will have access to high-performing professionals with experience in building and managing elite teams both within and outside the game. “Manchester United has talented people at the club and our ambition is to always improve at all levels to help bring further success to our great fans in the future.”
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Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani withdrew from the takeover process after making little progress on his £5 billion bid for United, paving the way for Ratcliffe’s deal. Ratcliffe owns two football clubs, Nice and Lausanne, as well as the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team and a sailing team.
The Failsworth-born businessman founded and runs petrochemical and fracking company Ineos. Blanc held managerial roles at Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, and Brailsford was British Cycling’s performance director for 11 years; during which time a strategy based on “marginal gains” took Great Britain to the top of the sport’s medal table at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.