After a disastrous few years, Manchester United fans demand a much-needed redevelopment, especially regarding the club ownership because it hasn't seen much progress under the much-maligned Glazers.
With the likes of Chelsea and Newcastle having new owners and doing well in the English Premier League, the one with the potential for a United takeover is Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Britain's second wealthiest businessman and a boyhood United fan.
Dig deeper with Main Stand to learn more about the potential new owner.
A massive fan of the Red Devils
Sir Jim Ratcliffe was born into a working class family and spent his entire childhood in Greater Manchester. Like many others during this time, he devoted himself to football due to his childhood hardships. Therefore, his source of happiness was none other than Manchester United, the city's football giant at that time.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe relocated to east England when he was 10 years old, so not many people know his liking for the Red Devils.
It confused everyone on what team he rooted for when he moved to London after succeeding in his career.
He was also linked to the takeover of Chelsea from Roman Abramovich and tabled a last-minute £4.25 billion bid to purchase the Stamford Bridge side earlier this year.
However, he didn't manage to take over the club, so he has been making another attempt to buy the club.
A few months later, Ratcliffe linked himself to the United takeover. However, as the team endured a dismal start to the 2022-23 season, with two consecutive losses that brought the team to the bottom of the table, the billionaire couldn't help but give an interview with The Times through a spokesperson.
"If the club is for sale, (Sir) Jim is a potential buyer. If something like this were possible, we would be interested in talking with a view to long-term ownership," Rattcliffe's spokesperson said about the potential purchase.
Ratcliffe's spokesperson also explained why he aims to purchase Manchester United despite an unsuccessful offer for Chelsea. He revealed the billionaire only wanted to help the London-based football club as a season ticket holder.
However, the reason behind Manchester United's takeover is that he grew up in Manchester and has been a big fan of the Red Devils since childhood.
Since Ratcliffe is well aware of the importance of Manchester United to the locals there, with the club's downhill pattern over the years, he reckons it is a chance to overhaul the team.
However, the club can't see huge improvements if the current owner Glazer family, still owns the club. That's why Ratcliffe's intention to hunker down at the club emerged.
"He has no secret about his desire to own a Premier League club. He tried to buy Chelsea, coming in with a late bid. He said he had the money to be able to do the deal quickly," added the spokesperson.
Is he the new owner United fans have long awaited?
Considering his £4.25bn fortune, paired with his assets of approximately £13bn, you will understand how financially qualified Sir Jim Ratcliffe is for purchasing the bigger club in Manchester.
However, what makes Ratcliffe a potential owner does not deal only with his impressive net worth. Besides his INEOS business worth over €30bn, he also owns myriads of football clubs and sporting clubs such as Ligue 1's Nice, Swiss Super League's FC Lausanne-Sport, British sailing club INEOS Britannia, and INEOS Grenadiers or formerly Team Sky. So the above-mentioned are proof of the fact that Ratcliffe is not a novice in sport.
Beyond that, INEOS also partnered with the Mercedes-AMG F1 team and Mercedes-Benz and Toto Wolff. The only hurdle that could fail a bid is the under-fire Glazers because of the family's reluctance to sell the club.
Recently, Sky Sports chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol revealed that the Glazer family does not want to sell the team but only needs a few minor shareholders. However, he added that the offer must not be below £5bn if the club is up for sale.
Also, the Manchester United Supporters' Trust expressed their wish to have a new owner, saying they need an owner willing to give top priority to the club and bring in massive investment to make the team great again.
Back to the era of Glory Glory Man United
Will Sir Jim Ratcliffe be United's savior and the new owner as fans expected? On the condition that the offer is desirable, there is an opportunity. However, thanks to his burning passion for football and loyalty to United, he will not arrive at the club to take advantage of the club as the American family has.
Amidst many crises bombarding the club, Ratcliffe's interest in buying the club renews hope among the Red Devils' desperate supporters. With all the factors mentioned above, United's future looks promising if the takeover happens, and they could become a genuinely top-flight club again.
Sources:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/chelsea-season-ticket-holder-britains-13176564
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/08/18/football/manchester-united-jim-ratcliffe-intl-spt/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44101223
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12675446/manchester-united-billionaire-sir-jim-ratcliffe-is-interested-in-buying-a-stake-in-the-club
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/sunday-times-rich-list
https://www.goal.com/en/news/sir-jim-ratcliffe-net-worth-wealth-business-interests-man-utd/blt2fb92b16afa9cafb
