Man Utd takeover: Ratcliffe will have control ‘within weeks’ as date set and final details close
INEOS chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Sir Jim Ratcliffe will reportedly take control of Manchester United ‘within weeks’ as the board are finalising the details of the agreement.
The sale process of United has gone on for quite some time. The Glazers began fielding interest from potential buyers in November 2022, after 17 years of owning the club.
Almost a full year later, and they’re still in full control of the Manchester side, despite having initially set their date for final offers as April 2023.
At that point, Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe were the two frontrunners in the race, both offering to take majority control of the club.
Jassim’s final offer, months after the initial final deadline, as the process was drawn out, was said to be almost double the Glazers’ valuation of United, yet they declined it.
As such, the investor backed out, leaving Ratcliffe the only potential buyer in the running.
The INEOS CEO then dropped his offer from wanting to take a 100 per cent stake in the club to taking just 25 per cent, which the Glazers agreed upon.
Ratcliffe will reportedly still have a major say in transfer policies and player negotiations, and has eyes on Paul Mitchell as his first hire in his new role.
Ratcliffe will have control ‘within weeks’
A date has now been set for the new co-owner to take up his post. According to Football Insider, Ratcliffe ‘is on course to complete the first stage of his Man Utd takeover within weeks and before the start of the New Year’.
It’s said that United’s board are currently ‘finalising the details of the agreement’ before Ratcliffe’s investment is ‘officially announced’.
That means that, despite the process having gone for nearly a year, there’s still time for something to change.
While it looks as if all parties are happy with the agreement, if there is an issue in the details of it, things could still be thrown up in the air.
Ratcliffe will hope that’s not the case, given he’s taking part in this process for some time, and has surely had to change his plans for the club after it became clear he couldn’t assume full control.
In any case, it’s said the takeover process is set to ‘accelerate quickly’ and the businessman is expected to be on United’s board ‘by the end of the year’.
