by Sir Jim Ratcliffe has completed a deal to buy a minority stake in Manchester United. The British billionaire spent just over £1bn to acquire 25% of the club and take control of football operations. It will provide an additional $300m (£237m) for infrastructure investment at Old Trafford.
With the arrival of Ratcliffe, the future of Erik ten Hag will be highlighted. Although the club is in a row, there is no structure to sack the manager and Ratcliffe will decide whether to keep faith with the Dutchman after the first half of the season. United are out of Europe after finishing bottom of their Champions League group and go into the Boxing Day game at home to eighth-placed Aston Villa in the Premier League. They have no score in their last four games.
Related: Will Jim Ratcliffe’s Manchester United stake reduce the damp air at Old Trafford? | John Brewin
Sir Dave Brailsford, Ineos’ sporting director, is set to hold talks with United’s senior staff and will make decisions, including about Ten Hag, afterwards. Brailsford will play a prominent role but it is unclear whether he will take over from John Murtough as United’s director of football. The Guardian understands that Murtough has no intention of leaving and may take on a different role if Brailsford decides to replace him. High on Ratcliffe’s priority list will be replacing Richard Arnold, who remains chief executive. Jean-Claude Blanc, CEO of Ineos Sport Ratcliffe, is favored to succeed Arnold.
Ratcliffe used his company Trawlers Limited – named after the famous Eric Cantona quote – to make the purchase. He said: “As a local boy and a lifelong supporter of the club, I am delighted that we have been able to agree a deal with the Manchester United board to delegate to us the responsibility of managing the football operations of the club. Although the club’s commercial success ensured that funds were always available to win trophies at the highest level, this potential has not been fully realized in recent times.
“We will bring the global knowledge, expertise and talent from the wider Ineos Sport group to help drive further improvement at the club, while providing funds to enable future investment in Old Trafford.
“We are here for the long term and we recognize that there are many challenges and hard work ahead of us, and we will tackle them with intensity, professionalism and passion. We are committed to working with everyone at the club – the board, staff, players and fans – to help drive the club forward.
-
Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for ‘The Guardian’.
-
If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the latest version.
-
In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
-
Turn on sports ads.
“Our shared ambition is clear: we all want to see Manchester United back where we belong, at the top of English, European and world football.”
Ratcliffe, who had previously tried to buy Chelsea, wanted a majority stake in United from the Glazers but had to settle for a quarter of the club. The deal is said to be debt-financed and subject to Premier League approval. Of Old Trafford’s $300m investment, $200m is due on completion of the transaction and the rest by the end of 2024. Ineos is getting two seats on the board.
The Glazers revealed 13 months ago that they were “beginning a process to explore other strategic options” and decided against a full sale. Avram Glazer and Joel Glazer, joint executive chairmen, said: “Sir Jim and Ineos bring a wealth of commercial experience as well as significant financial commitment to the club. And, through Ineos Sport, Manchester United will have access to high-performance professionals experienced in building and leading elite teams both inside and outside the game. Manchester United has talented people across the club and we are always looking to improve at every level so that our fans can enjoy greater success in the future.”
Related: Drab, tired, unmotivated: Manchester United hit new low at West Ham | Jonathan Wilson
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani pulled Qatar out of the takeover process after making little progress with its £5bn bid for United, paving the way for the Ratcliffe deal. Ratcliffe has two football clubs, Nice and Lausanne, as well as the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team and a sailing team.
The Failsworth-born businessman founded and directs Ineos, the petrochemical and fracking company. Blanc held executive positions at Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, while Brailsford was British Cycling’s performance director for 11 years when a strategy based on “marginal gains” drove GB to dominate the sport’s medals table at the Olympics 2008 and 2012.
