A spokesperson of Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe has confirmed that he is once again interested in buying Manchester United from the Glazer Family, a new report from the UK has indicated. The owner of petrochemical giant INEOS is said to be keen on buying a stake in the Premier League club with a view to 'long-term ownership'.
A poor start to the new league season and a circus on the part of Man United in the summer transfer window has seen lovers of the club calling out the ownership. For the umpteeth time, fans are mounting pressure on the Glazer Familty to give up their status as majority shareholders and sell the club to another suitor with the view of ending the struggles that have endured since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2014.
In recent times, club legends such as Gary Neville and Roy Keane have spoken out against the mismanagement of the Red Devils and are spearheading calls for the club's current ownership to step away. With rumors circulating that the Glazers might finally concede defeat and sanction the sale of the Old Trafford outfit, a rather insignificant headway was on Wednesday after it became apparent that they willing to sell a minority stake. According to Bloomberg, the American owners have held preliminary talks on new investment, hence this decision. Meanwhile, Manchester United has desisted from commentiing on the said development.
Last week, The Independent revealed that three consortiums were exploring the possibility of tabling bids for United amid increasing belief that the Glazers could sanction the club's sale for a whooping $6billion. On Tuesday evening, Tesla billionaire Elon Musk also sparked a frenzy by joking on social media about buying the Red Devils.
Amid the agitation, Sir Jim Ratcliffe - a man touted as Britain's richest man with a net worth of over $13B - has supposedly emerged as the saviour for the Old Trafford outfit. Known to be a die-hard fan of the club, his spokesperson has iterated his desire to buy the Premier League club should it be put up for sale.
"If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer," Ratcliffe's spokesperson told The Times.
"If something like this was possible, we would be interested in talking with a view to long-term ownership."
Aside owning Ineos Group Ltd, Ratcliffe also owns cycling team Ineos Grenadiers and Ligue 1 club Nice. Priort to America businessman Todd Boehly taking over Chelsea this summer, the 69-year-old tabled a last-minute £4.25 billion bid to buy the London club but had his offer being rejected.
