The announcement has been awaited for weeks, but the saga of the Manchester United takeover is nearing its conclusion. After long and interminable discussions, Jim Ratcliffe, the last candidate after the abandonment of Sheikh Jassim, officially entered the capital of the Mancunian club by purchasing 25% of its shares. Via a joint press release, Manchester United and the founder of the petrochemical giant Ineos made the news public this Sunday. According to Sky Sportsthe amount paid by Ratcliffe would be estimated at 1.3 billion pounds (1.5 billion euros).
“Manchester United today announced that it has entered into an agreement under which INEOS Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe will acquire 25% of the Class B shares of Manchester United and up to 25% of the Class A shares of Manchester United, and will provide an additional $300 million to enable future investment at Old Trafford. As part of the transaction, INEOS accepted the board’s request to be delegated responsibility for the management of the club’s football operations. This will include all aspects of men’s and women’s football operations and academies, as well as two seats on the board of directors of Manchester United PLC and the board of directors of Manchester United Football Club.specifies the press release from the Mancunian club.
The Glazer family remains a shareholder for the moment
Eager to obtain a majority acquisition of the club, the owner of OGC Nice, Jim Ratcliffe, will ultimately have to settle for a minority role, at least for the moment. As reported by Sky Sports, the British billionaire has ratified an agreement with the Glazer family, owner since 2005, by proposing to remain in the shareholding of MU. However, the 71-year-old would like to break with the sporting policy put in place by the current owners. Furthermore, this agreement should offer Ratcliffe control of football operations, in this case for everything relating to recruitment, but it should also offer him a fairly broad scope of action on the commercial side controlled by the Glazer family. .
The possibility of seeing him join the board of directors of the Red Devils cannot be ruled out either. These last weeks, The Sun also revealed that the future owner of the club already wanted to get rid of several big names, namely Jadon Sancho, Antony and Anthony Martial. While Richard Arnold, the club’s former CEO, has already left his role, John Murtough, director of football, and David Harrison, director of operations, could follow the same path. 8th in the Premier League, Manchester United must take a new turn. With or without Erik ten Hag at the helm, the next few weeks will tell.
