Jim Ratcliffe pleads for patience after agreeing Manchester United deal
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Jim Ratcliffe had agreed a deal to buy a 25 per cent stake in the club for about US$1.3 billion (S$1.7 billion).
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Jim Ratcliffe has directly contacted Manchester United fans to plead for patience after agreeing to take a stake in the struggling English football giant.
United announced on Christmas Eve that the British billionaire had agreed a deal to buy a 25 per cent stake in the club for about US$1.3 billion (S$1.72 billion), vowing to return the Premier League side to the “top of world football”.
United also announced that Ratcliffe’s Ineos chemicals company would take control of football operations after years of underachievement under the Glazer family, the club’s current owners, who retain majority control of United.
Ineos director of sport Dave Brailsford, who is essentially a cycling expert, was in the crowd at Old Trafford on Dec 26 as United came from 2-0 down to defeat Aston Villa 3-2 to move up to sixth in the Premier League.
Ratcliffe, 71, has now written to several fan groups, including the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust, insisting Ineos “are in for the long term” while stressing on-field success “will require time and patience”, with fans also hoping he can redevelop a crumbling Old Trafford ground.
“I wanted to write to you at this time, given the critical role of the fans to the future of Manchester United, as we recognise our responsibility as custodians of the club on your behalf,” he said.
“I believe we can bring sporting success on the pitch to complement the undoubted commercial success that the club has enjoyed. It will require time and patience, alongside rigour and the highest level of professional management.
“You are ambitious for Manchester United and so are we.
“There are no guarantees in sport, and change can inevitably take time but we are in it for the long term and together we want to help take Manchester United back to where the club belongs, at the very top of English, European and world football.
“I take that responsibility very seriously.”
Ratcliffe added he would not be speaking about club matters until the deal had received regulatory approval – meaning that it is not officially done yet.
But it appears a saga that began 13 months ago, when the unpopular Glazers said they were considering “strategic alternatives”, is now nearing an end.
Ratcliffe tried to buy Chelsea in 2022 and is a Blues season ticket holder. He also tried to purchase a stake in Barcelona.
He grew up in the Manchester region and claims that he is a committed United fan.
His group has extensive involvement in sport, owning French Ligue 1 club Nice, Swiss side Lausanne-Sport, as well as the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team and the Ineos Britannia sailing team.
United, meanwhile, said it could coerce the Briton under certain circumstances to divest his ownership in the club at least 18 months after he closes his acquisition of a 25 per cent stake.
It made the disclosure in a regulatory filing on Dec 26, but did not specify the circumstances.
The document also said that for three years after the deal closes, any potential sale of the club solicited by the Glazer family will need to fetch at least US$33 per share for Ratcliffe.
A spokesperson for United did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
AFP, REUTERS
