More than a year after the Glazer family, its owners since 2005, announced that the club was for sale, Manchester United reported today that it had signed an agreement under which the president of petrochemical multinational INEOS, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, took 25 percent of its shares.
In addition, the English tycoon, who has one of the largest fortunes in the United Kingdom, will invest an additional 300 million dollars (273 million euros) for future investments both in transfers and in the remodeling of Old Trafford.
Sports management, in your hands
As part of the operation, INEOS, the fourth largest chemical company in the world, accepted a request from the Board of Directors to delegate responsibility for the management of the club’s football operations.
Ultimately, INEOS will take the lead on sporting matters, specifically “all aspects of men’s and women’s football operations and academies, as well as two seats on the board of directors of Manchester United PLC and the board of directors of Manchester United Football Club”.
The most immediate decision Ratcliffe will face is whether to retain or be dismissed Erik ten Haagthe highly-questioned coach of United’s first men’s team, who lost to West Ham (2-0) on Saturday and are eighth in the Premier League, twelve points behind leaders Arsenal.
Qatar withdrew in October
Ratcliffe was left as the only candidate to strike a deal with United’s owners afterwards Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani to retire in October the endless bidding process by ensuring that it would not increase its 6,000 million dollar (5,500 million euro) offer to acquire the glorious club.
Ratcliffe presented the offer that most convinced the Glazers after trying to buy United in its entirety for more than 5,000 million pounds (5,700 million euros), a figure that was also offered by Qatar, which, however, did not want to accept. a simple participation within the club.
Although the Glazers’ initial intention was to sell United, which they bought in 2005 for 790 million pounds, the offers seemed to fall short, as they valued United at more than 6,000 million pounds (6,900 million euros).
United is the most successful team in English football. His record includes 20 leagues, 12 FA Cups, 6 League Cups, 21 Super Cups (Charity Shield/Community Shield), 3 European Cups/Champions League, 1 Cup Winners’ Cup, 1 Europa League, 1 European Super Cup, 1 World Cup Clubs and 1 Intercontinental Cup.
A lifelong United fan
“As a Manchester boy and lifelong supporter of the club, “I am very pleased that we have reached an agreement with Manchester United’s board of directors that has entrusted us with the responsibility of managing the Club’s football operations,” Ratcliffe highlighted in United’s statement.
“While the Club’s commercial success has ensured that funds are always available to win trophies at the highest level, This potential has not been fully exploited in recent times. We will bring global knowledge, experience and talent from a wider range. “The INEOS Sport group will help drive further improvements at the Club, while also providing funding to enable future investment at Old Trafford,” detailed Ratcliffe.
The Glazers, satisfied
“We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS. As part of the strategic review we announced in November 2022, we are committed to looking at a range of alternatives to help improve Manchester United, with particular attention to the men’s, women’s and youth teams. Sir Jim and INEOS bring a wealth of commercial experience as well as financial commitment to the club,” they said. Avram and Joel Glazer in the statement.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
