Dec 24, 2023 at 5:15 PM Update: 39 minutes ago
INEOS owner Jim Ratcliffe has acquired a quarter of the shares of Manchester United, coach Erik ten Hag’s club confirmed on Sunday. According to British media, the deal involves an amount of 1.5 billion euros.
The 71-year-old Ratcliffe takes over the shares in Manchester United from the American Glazer family. He has been the owner of the English top club since 2005. The takeover still needs to be approved by the Premier League.
Ratcliffe will transfer 350 million euros for future investments in the club. The owner of chemical company INEOS will be fully responsible for United’s sporting policy.
At the beginning of this year, Ratcliffe already made a billion-dollar bid for Manchester United. He had been in discussions with the Glazers for some time. The American family announced at the end of last year that it wanted to sell shares in the twenty-time national champion.
It is unclear what consequences the billion-dollar deal will have for Ten Hag. In any case, Ratcliffe has not hinted at a possible change of manager at United.
Ratcliffe, who was born about 15 kilometers from Old Trafford, is a big fan of Manchester United. He describes himself as a “local boy“As someone who has been a lifelong supporter of the club, I am delighted that we have come out of it,” he said on the Manchester United website. “With INEOS Sport’s global sporting knowledge and the resources to invest we will help the club move forward.”
Foto: Getty Images
Ratcliffe already tried to take over Chelsea last year
With INEOS, Ratcliffe also owns cycling team INEOS Grenadiers and several football clubs, including OGC Nice. In addition, the chemical company owns a third of the shares of Formula 1 team Mercedes.
Last year, Ratcliffe made a billion-dollar bid for Chelsea, but the takeover failed. Roman Abramovich sold the London club to an American consortium around Todd Boehly.
The Glazers have been criticized by supporters for years. Many of them felt that the Americans had a bad policy, which caused the club to decline over the years.
Manchester United has hardly won any trophies since the departure of success coach Alex Ferguson in 2013. ‘The Red Devils’ won the FA Cup in 2016 and the League Cup and the Europa League in 2017. Under Ten Hag, United won the League Cup this year.
Manchester United is performing poorly this season. Ten Hag’s team is eighth in the Premier League and has been eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League.
2023-12-24 16:15:16
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