Ratcliffe bid presents glimmer of hope for Manchester United

Manchester United fans won’t get the clean slate they wanted when the Glazer family announced almost a year ago that they might sell the club, but there are hopes they could get something that closer to a new beginning.

British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, founder and chairman of chemical company INEOS, is close to striking a deal to acquire 25% of the club in exchange for £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion), as well as well as controlling the sporting aspect of the business. This is not the full buyout demanded by buyout proponents, because it means the Glazers, highly unpopular owners since their leveraged buyout in 2005, are prepared to stay on in some form. nature.

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Most fans are willing to wait and see what happens, but the general feeling is that after 18 years of anger and protests, the situation can’t be as bad as what happened before.

Ratcliffe, who is estimated to be worth around £15 billion ($18 billion), has already demonstrated his business expertise just to put himself in this position. While his main rival in the bidding process, Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani, tailored his offer to win over fans, Ratcliffe focused on winning over the Glazers. Ratcliffe initially wanted to buy back the Glazers’ 69% stake and leave the rest on the New York Stock Exchange, but amid doubts about the structure of the deal and whether the American family was really willing to sell, he reduced his interest. offer to a minority investment.

Sheikh Jassim, meanwhile, was consistent in his message that he only wanted 100% of the club, paid in cash. In proposals which appealed to the majority of fans, he also said he would wipe out existing debt created by Glazer’s ownership – the latest financial figures published in March put the figure at almost £1 billion – and would add an extra £1.4. billion ($1.7 billion) to invest in the stadium, training ground and playing team.

There are moral questions surrounding the Sheikh’s interest – notably his close ties to Qatar, a country with a poor record on human rights and laws against homosexuality – but, in a purely footballing sense , his plans have appealed to supporters who have seen United lag behind their neighbors Manchester City since their takeover by Abu Dhabi in 2008.

Yet Sheikh Jassim’s team announced on Saturday that it was withdrawing from the race, citing the Glazers’ “far-fetched and fanciful” valuation of more than £6 billion ($7.3 billion) as the main reason. Manchester United’s current market value is around £2.7 billion ($3.2 billion), but their exit from the race ends what has been a curious episode.

Sheikh Jassim has never spoken publicly about his candidacy, and after his interest was revealed in a brief statement in February, the public relations firm hired to make his case could not answer simple questions about his age or his family situation. Other questions about the extent of his personal wealth, where the money came from and his ties to the Qatari state also remained unanswered. So little was known about a character who, almost overnight, became a topic of conversation among United’s global fans, that supporters regularly joked about whether it was a person real or if it was an AI-generated element.

A source close to the offer told ESPN that there are no plans to target another club, so perhaps the answer will never be revealed. One of the positive elements of Cheikh Jassim’s offer, according to his team, was that it was a “clean” takeover bid. Meanwhile, Ratcliffe has done a better job of getting a foot in the door with the Glazers, but his idea is more complicated and therefore open to a host of questions about how it’s all going to work.

Ratcliffe’s proposal calls for an investment of £1.3 billion, but where is this money coming from, will it be borrowed and where is it going? He is about to acquire a 25% stake, but how can a minority shareholder control any sector of the company, especially one as important as football? And if the Glazers stay, what will their new role look like?

The main reason behind the Glazers’ announcement in November 2022, in which they said they would consider “strategic alternatives” to meet “the long-term investment needs of the club”, was the realization that they needed capital to redevelop Old Trafford. It is estimated to cost between £800 million ($975 million) and £2 billion ($2.4 billion) – how does Ratcliffe’s money get there?

Above all, the key question remains: Does United’s future look brighter with Ratcliffe?

The 70-year-old, who attempted to buy Chelsea in 2022, has football experience having bought Swiss club FC Lausanne-Sport in 2017 and French club Nice in 2019.

His time at the helm of Nice was disappointing. They recorded three top four finishes in League One in the six years before Ratcliffe’s takeover and since his ownership they have finished 6th in 2020, 9th in 2021, 5th in 2022 and 9th in 2023. It is already being said that if Ratcliffe succeeds in his bid to gain influence at United — he could get the green light as early as Thursday, when a pre-scheduled board meeting is due to take place — that He is reportedly looking to replace director of football John Murtough with his own man, perhaps former Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell.

United staff made presentations to Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim’s team in March, coming away from meetings believing both groups were happy with the club’s structure and plans for the future, but as An INEOS source told ESPN: “What’s the point of having influence and then not using it?

Erik ten Hag’s position as manager is secure, but Murtough and CEO Richard Arnold would be vulnerable in the event of an upheaval.

Ratcliffe, a childhood United supporter born in Failsworth, is keenly aware of fan sentiment, so expect a charm offensive when and if his investment is confirmed. But United fans want less talk and more action.

Once again, as has often been the case under the Glazers, the atmosphere is tense. Fans are fed up with a decade of decline and increasingly fearful of empty promises of positive change. But if Ratcliffe can secure a deal that sees the Glazers take a back seat while improvements are made to the stadium and playing squad, then it will reignite hopes that better days are not so far away.