Until now, Ineos’s connection with mass sports has focused on cycling. In 2019, the chemical and energy company assumed the main sponsorship of what had been the Sky team, the reference in British and world cycling in those years. Four and a half years after beginning its relationship with bicycles, the British multinational enters football through another of the symbols of English sport, Manchester United.
The club is going through a time of sporting and institutional crisis that it is trying to solve with the entry of Ineos into the shareholding. The company’s president, Jim Radcliffe, has acquired 25 percent of the club’s ownership, a sale that will be financed by the Trawlers Limited company, which is 100 percent owned by Radcliffe. The operation is accompanied by an investment of 300 million dollars, which will be made in two parts: 200 million at the time of signing the agreement and the remaining one hundred at the end of 2024.
The operation allows the Glazer family to be removed from the management of the club, which hands it over to Jim Radcliffe and his company. A maneuver that, in theory, brings the club closer to its origins. The new shareholder is a multimillionaire, but the reason that led him to take over a quarter of the entity is his passion for the club, of which he has been a fan since he was a child.
In addition to economic recovery, the entry of Radcliffe and Ineos also seeks to improve the club’s sporting situation. “As a lifelong fan of the club, I am very pleased that we have been able to reach an agreement with the Manchester United Board of Directors, which will delegate responsibility for the management of the club’s football operations to us. Although the club’s commercial success has always guaranteed the availability of funds to win trophies, this potential could not be fully exploited in recent times. “We will bring the global knowledge, experience and talent of the entire INEOS Sport group to help drive further improvements at the club,” explains Radcliffe himself in a statement released by the club on Christmas Eve.
«Sir Jim and INEOS have extensive commercial experience, as well as a significant financial commitment to the club. And, through INEOS Sport, Manchester United will have access to high-performance professionals with experience in creating and managing elite teams. Manchester United has talented people throughout the club, and our desire is to improve at all levels to help our fans enjoy more success in the future,” said Avam and Joel Glazer, co-presidents of Manchester United, in the same statement. .
The new shareholder in United does not have it easy. The team was last in its group in the Champions League and has been left out of all European competitions. In the League they are eighth, twelve points behind the leader, Arsenal, and have lost three of the last five games.
Fans now hope that Radcliffe’s entry into the shareholding does not have the same sporting effect that his entry into cycling had. It remains one of the most powerful teams in the world, but it has only been able to win the Tour the same year its sponsorship began, in 2019 with Egan Bernal.
With Sky sponsorship, Team Sky achieved six Tour victories in seven years. Between 2012 and 2018 he was able to win it with three British riders: Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas. He only missed victory in 2014 when Froome had to retire due to a fall and the victory went to Vincenzo Nibali. Egan Bernal’s injuries and the accident that almost cost him his life have prevented him from dominating world cycling as expected.
2023-12-25 20:14:07
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