Manchester United takeover announcement is close, with confirmation coming: report

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Manchester United are set for new investment from INEOS billionaire, Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Manchester United stadium Old Trafford during the FA Barclaycard Premiership match on October 26, 2002 between Manchester United and Aston Villa at Old Trafford in Manchester.
(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. 

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Manchester United co-chairmen Joel Glazer and Avram Glazer (L) prepare to watch the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Burnley at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on February 11, 2015. Manchester United won the game 3-1.

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.

The Glazers have been criticised for their overly ambitious valuation of United, considering the state of the club and its infrastructure. 

Prospective Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe pictured during the signing of an investment pact between chemicals group Ineos and the Antwerp harbor, Tuesday 15 January 2019 in Antwerp.

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.

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Mark White
Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.