Manchester United’s lifesaver

With the departure of Qatar of the equation to obtain the Manchester United, Ineosthe group led by the British billionaire Jim Ratcliffeis the only remaining bidder and the one who will take 25% of the Mancunian club: this is the lifeline for fans who want the dynasty Glazer I ended up at Old Trafford.

But what is it? Ineos? It is the fourth largest chemical company in the world, with an annual capitalization of 63 billion euros annually and with more than 25,000 employees across the planet.

Ratcliffewho founded the company in 1998, has a fortune of more than 20 billion pounds (23 billion euros) and was elected the richest person in the United Kingdom in 2018. In addition, this year he will appear on the list Forbes among the 100 richest people in the world.

F1 and cycling

The relationship of Ineos with sport it is cemented thanks to two great pillars: Formula 1 and cycling. In the great circus, Ineos has been linked in recent years to Lewis Hamilton already Mercedes. In December 2020, the company Ratcliffe took over 33% of the Formula 1 team, becoming the main sponsor of the team that dominated the hybrid era. The agreement with the Germans was for five years.

In cycling, Ineos seized the opportunity that remained Sky in 2019, when it stopped sponsoring one of the most successful teams of the 20th century, the Team Skywho in a decade won seven Tours de France and many more Grand Tours. Ineos he took the team and with the help of the English Tao Geoghean Hart and from Colombia Egan Bernal They added two more Giros d’Italia to their record.

Britannia, Kipchoge, All Blacks…

And Ineos’ relationship with sport does not end here. They are also the main sponsor of the sailing team. Britanniawhich aspires to win next year’s Copa América, has sponsored the “1:59” challenge, where Eliud KipchogeOlympic gold medalist in the Marathon on two occasions, attempted to run 42 kilometers in less than two hours – and he succeeded – and is also an advocate of All black in rugby.

In addition to athletics – Ratcliffe completed a marathon in 2013 – another great passion of the billionaire is football. Declared fan of United Since he was little, in his company he is the owner of Nicein Ligue 1, and Lausannein the Swiss League, but their big goal in recent years has been to get into the Premier League.

Boehly won the race for Chelsea

In the spring of 2022 and facing Russian obligation Roman Abramovich to sell the Chelsea for its implications on the war in Ukraine, Ratcliffe He was one of the suitors who took over the Stamford Bridge club. Its offer of 4.25 billion pounds (4.9 billion euros) was surpassed by Todd Boehlyand the tycoon continued in English football.

Until November of last year, the family Glazerwhat did he buy? United in 2005 for 800 million pounds, decided to open the door to a sale or entry of new investors.

Qatar and Ratcliffe They positioned themselves as the main candidates, with offers reaching up to 5,000 million pounds, but the Glazer They have never given any indication that they really want to sell the club, constantly raising the value they have made on it and asking for offers in excess of 6,000 million pounds.

This constant uncertainty is created Qatar and forced Ratcliffe to choose a different strategy. Instead of buying the entire club, it will take a minority stake of 25%. The goal, in addition to gradually entering the Unitedis participating in the club’s sporting decisions, one of the aspects most criticized by fans in recent years.

Both the decline of the sport – United have not won the Premier since 2013 and the Champions League since 2008 – and the economic collapse, as they have a debt of more than 1,000 million euros, have caused fans to tire of dynasty. Glazer and the need for a change in the command structure of what was once the most important club in England.

Recent events like TeamViewer decided to terminate its contract as the main shirt sponsor early or Old Trafford, widely criticized for its age, was not selected as the stadium in the United Kingdom and Ireland’s bid for the 2028 Euro Cup – and the Etihad Stadium was – reveal the loss of identity and power of a United which is already looking forward to the entry of Ineos their status is restored.