Sir Jim Ratcliffe seems to be a popular candidate for the Manchester United takeover, which could happen later this year.
The Glazer family are welcoming bids for the club from investors in mid-February, but Mancunian businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already made it clear that he will be making an offer to the American family.
A quick scan across social media and you will see several posts about Ratcliffe being the saviour of Manchester United, and while I some way from being of that belief, it shows that there is a large amount of fans against the idea of being owned by a state like we’ve seen happen to Man City and Newcastle. I, for one, would hate to see United become another sportswashing identity like Paris Saint-Germain.
Ratcliffe, like any businessman, will expect some sort of return on the money he puts into United if his bid is successful, though it would be likely to come through dividends. Reds would see that as a red flag after watching how the Glazers have abused the club for the past 17-years.
Sir Jim has his finger in sport already with Formula, cycling and Ligue 1 side OGC Nice.
After dipping his toe into the water of football ownership in 2019, Ratcliffe has been criticised from corners for his involvement at Nice. They haven’t enjoyed much success but he has indicated something at the Ligue 1 side that he is likely to do at United.
To conduct an audit of the club, in order to give a financial overview of where Nice could improve, Ratcliffe appointed Sir Dave Brailsford last term. In a letter to fans, Radcliffe wrote: “The audit carried out by Sir Dave Brailsford has underlined both the growth opportunities and also the areas where we must improve if we want to progress further.”
According to the Manchester Evening Evening, the Glazers would allow an overview of the current climate at United when discussions take place ahead of a takeover – but he won’t know all monetary facets unless he acquires the club.
The first thing fans will want from the next owners is to see the debt cleared. Then it would make perfect sense to carry out an audit.
