Man Utd officially announce Sir Jim Ratcliffe deal as Joel Glazer makes short statement

Man Utd officially announce Sir Jim Ratcliffe deal as Joel Glazer makes short statement

WATCH NOW: Sports round-up as Man Utd announce Sir Jim Ratcliffe investment

Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 20/02/2024

- 21:22

Updated: 20/02/2024

- 22:36

The Red Devils have confirmed the investment from the British Billionaire

Manchester United have confirmed that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has officially purchased a minority stake in the club.

The INEOS founder initially agreed to purchase 25 per cent of the Red Devils on Christmas Eve and it has now been fully ratified by the FA and Premier League.


It finally brings an end to a long-running takeover saga at Old Trafford, with Ratcliffe being confirmed as a co-owner.

United majority shareholders the Glazers first signalled they were interested in selling all or part of their shares in November 2022.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Man Utd have officially confirmed Sir Jim Ratcliffe's investment into the club

Getty

Ratcliffe and Qatari billionaire Sheikh Jassim quickly became the two frontrunners to buy the Old Trafford club.

Sheikh Jassim wanted to buy out the Glazers entirely and made bids worth up to £5billion to do so.

However, the Glazers were not prepared to sell all of the club and the interest from Ratcliffe appealed to them more.

It was first reported last November that the 71-year-old was keen on purchasing 25 per cent of the shares, worth around £1.3billion.

That was agreed on December 24 but all parties had to wait for the deal to be fully ratified.

Ratcliffe met United boss Erik ten Hag in January and visited the club's Carrington training ground as well as attending the Premier League draw at home to Tottenham.

He revealed the deal was expected to go through in February and now United have announced that it is the case.

A statement from United confirms that Ratcliffe's offer passed the conditions set out by the FA and the Premier League.

Part of the statement reads: "Manchester United plc (NYSE: MANU), and Trawlers Limited, an entity wholly-owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, are pleased to confirm that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has completed his acquisition of 25 per cent of the club’s Class B shares and 25% of the club’s Class A shares, following the satisfaction of all conditions, including approvals from the Football Association and the Premier League."

United also confirmed that Ratcliffe has invested a further $200million for additional Class A and Class B shares.

This means he will in fact have an ownership of approximately 27.7 per cent of the club, with a further $100m to be invested by the end of 2024.

Ratcliffe, a lifelong United fan, revealed his delight at the deal finally getting over the line.

He said: "To become co-owner of Manchester United is a great honour and comes with great responsibility.

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Joel Glazer

Joel Glazer has made a short statement on Sir Jim Ratcliffe's investment at Man Utd

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"This marks the completion of the transaction, but just the beginning of our journey to take Manchester United back to the top of English, European and world football, with world class facilities for our fans. Work to achieve those objectives will accelerate from today."

Joel Glazer, who remains executive vice-chairman, also welcomed Ratcliffe's arrival in a short statement.

The American said: "I would like to welcome Sir Jim as co-owner and look forward to working closely with him and INEOS Sport to deliver a bright future for Manchester United."

Ratcliffe has already made his mark at United, securing the services of a new CEO by luring Omar Berrada from Manchester City.

Berrada is on gardening leave and will start at United in the summer.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already met some of the Man Utd men's and women's players

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United are also in the process of appointing a new sporting director.

Dan Ashworth is the top target and has also been placed on gardening leave from his role at Newcastle.

Ashworth has asked the Magpies to let him leave to join their Premier League rivals.

United have also seen improvement on the pitch in recent weeks, with Ten Hag's side sixth in the table and five points off the top four.

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