By Matt Hardy
Billionaire boss of Ineos Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to buy a stake in football club Manchester United with a view to holding a controlling stake in the Premier League outfit in the future.
A spokesperson for the billionaire told The Times: “If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer.”
“If something like this was possible, we would be interested in talking with a view to long-term ownership.”
This comes following reports from Bloomberg that suggest the Glazer family, who have owned Manchester United since 2005, may be willing to look at potential minority stake buyers.
England’s most valuable club (Forbes estimate £3.8bn, some suggest £5bn) have struggled at the beginning of this year’s Premier League campaign, suffering losses to both Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford.
The Glazers have come under scrutiny throughout their near two-decade period of ownership and have often been accused of taking more out of the club than putting in – shares in the club are available on the New York Stock Exchange.
“This is not about the money that has been spent or not spent,” the spokesperson added. “Jim is looking at what can be done now and, knowing how important the club is to the city, it feels like the time is right for a reset.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s did make a late bid for fellow Big Six club Chelsea earlier this year – with a Todd Boehly-led consortium the eventual buyers – sporting he maintains a sporting empire which includes a Grand Tour team, Ligue 1’s Nice and a partnership with Rugby’s All Blacks and Formula 1’s Mercedes.
Some suggest Manchester United could be worth £5bn in its entirety, which would make it the most valuable sporting club in the world, but Bloomberg reports that the Glazers – who also own NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers – would only be willing to sell an initial minority stake.
Ratcliffe’s expression of interest comes after Telsa co-founder Elon Musk said on social media that he, too, would be interested in the club – only to state his tweet was a joke just hours later.
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