Man United sale: Billionaire Ratcliffe enters race

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has introduced himself as a contender to purchase Manchester United, sources have confirmed to ESPN.

Ratcliffe, head of chemical firm INEOS and Britain’s richest man with a reported price of £9.8 billion, has registered an curiosity to purchase the membership from the Glazer household, who revealed in November they’re taking a look at “strategic alternatives” together with exterior funding or a sale.

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Formal bids will not be anticipated till February, however Ratcliffe is the primary to announce his intention to discover the potential for buying the Premier League facet. A spokesman advised ESPN on Tuesday: “I can confirm that we have formally put ourselves into the process.”

Ratcliffe is predicted to face competitors from the United States, the Middle East and Asia, though at this stage events are solely signing as much as undertake due diligence earlier than deciding on their subsequent steps.

Ratcliffe, a boyhood United fan who made a proposal to purchase Chelsea final 12 months, stated in October that he had met Joel and Avram Glazer however that they didn’t wish to promote.

“Manchester United was one of those top three clubs with Barcelona and Real Madrid,” Ratcliffe advised the Financial Times in October.

“A few more have joined that club with Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City. Liverpool are a little bit closer.

“But Manchester United will not be taking part in in that league of these different groups in the meanwhile and have not finished for fairly some years since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down [in 2013].

“So they’re not firing on all cylinders, that’s my point on performance.”

The Glazers have owned United since 2005 after they accomplished a leveraged buyout and have confronted widespread supporter unrest over the past 18 years.

The membership haven’t gained a trophy since 2017 and final gained the Premier League title in 2013, the 12 months Ferguson retired. Around 10,000 followers joined a protest in opposition to the Glazer household’s possession forward of the 2-1 win over Liverpool in August.

Sources have advised ESPN that the Glazer household need to increase a world file price for a sports activities crew and imagine they will appeal to provides of greater than £6bn ($7.25bn).