Manchester United are set for new investment from INEOS billionaire, Sir Jim Ratcliffe
(Image credit: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Manchester United are close to announcing the confirmation of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's investment into the club.
Ratcliffe, who is a lifelong fan of the Red Devils, is set to pump around £1.25 billion into Manchester United in return for around 25 per cent of the club. It is expected that he will take control of football operations.
It's almost a year to the day that the Glazer family announced that they were considering selling the club. The bombshell was dropped on November 22 2022 to widespread relief from United fans, who have been dissatisfied with the Americans' running of the club for years.
Manchester United co-chairmen Joel Glazer and Avram Glazer are selling 25 per cent of the club (Image credit: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
But an end may well be in sight to the saga now, with the BBC claiming that an announcement could be due next week.
Ratcliffe has already amended his initial plan to buy the Glazers' 69% shareholding. The owners originally planned to sell the entire club, but no one has met their demands, according to several reports over the last few months.
VIDEO: Jim Ratcliffe's Manchester United Takeover EXPLAINED
Qatari billionaire Sheikh Jassim withdrew his interest last month, after claiming that his final bid for United had not met the Glazers' valuation. His bid was thought to be around £5bn – some double Manchester United's stock market valuation.
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The Glazers have been criticised for their overly ambitious valuation of United, considering the state of the club and its infrastructure.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe will take control of football matters (Image credit: DIRK WAEM/AFP via Getty Images)
Sources "with a close working knowledge of Ratcliffe" told BBC Sport that was "impossible to imagine" the Nice owner would have agreed to be a "silent partner" at the club he supports.
It is expected Sir Dave Brailsford, the former performance director at British Cycling, will be brought to Old Trafford, too.
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
