- Long-awaited announcement of Ratcliffe’s investment is set for Christmas Eve
- Glazer family will relinquish 25 per cent of their stake and football operations
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s £1.25billion buy-out of 25 per cent of Manchester United will be confirmed on Christmas Eve.
The INEOS petrochemicals billionaire will take charge of football operations at Old Trafford after buying a stake in the club from the Glazer family.
The official announcement of the deal has been delayed several times but confirmation is now expected before Christmas.
As part of the deal, Ratcliffe and his INEOS team will take control of the playing side at United, including player recruitment.
Erik ten Hag’s side are struggling this season and sit a lowly eighth in the Premier League table, having already exited the Champions League and Carabao Cup.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s buy-out of 25 per cent of Manchester United will be confirmed today
The Glazer family have relinquished 25 per cent of United but remain as majority owners
A £245million commitment to improve the infrastructure at Old Trafford and the Carrington training ground has also been pledged.
Industry experts have warned that the sum – should it be spent in its entirety on what is a decaying Old Trafford – will not be transformative.
Ratcliffe, who hails from Failsworth near Manchester, has supported United since a young age.
Mail Sport reported this week that Ratcliffe, 71, will recommend job cuts and efficiency savings in various departments at United following his buy-out.
A due diligence review concluded United are overstaffed in several areas and a number will be restructured when he comes in.
United have by far the biggest staff of any club in the Premier League, with over 1100 employees on the payroll at Old Trafford.
The British tycoon won a race with the Qatar Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, who wanted to completely buy out the Glazers but withdrew from the bidding in October.
It is believed one of his first moves will be to hire Paul Mitchell as his sporting director.
Mitchell, who has been out of work since leaving Monaco in the summer having spent three years at the Ligue 1 club, has already reportedly been over to Spain to watch Mason Greenwood in action.
His has finally seen his £1.25billion deal ratified for a quarter of ownership at his boyhood club
Reports have circulated that he is ready to sell £194m worth of talent in January to raise funds at the club – with Antony, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial all on the chopping block.
Prior to Ratcliffe’s deal being announced, current chief executive Richard Arnold was announced to be leaving before the end of the year.
Patrick Stewart, Manchester United’s general counsel, will be named as the club’s interim CEO.
United have spent a staggering £1.4billion on transfers since Sir Alex Ferguson left his role as manager and retired a decade ago. Current incumbent Erik ten Hag has spent almost £400m since joining the club last summer.
Ratcliffe, like many top businessmen, hates wasting money and he is said to have been staggered by the nature of United’s spending.
His part-ownership will leave part of the Red Devils fanbase divided. Many will be happy that someone has broken up the Glazer family’s full ownership of the club, while many will be unhappy that it is not a complete takeover and it wasn’t done by Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim.
More to follow.
