Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made an official bid to complete a full takeover of Manchester United.
The Mancunian businessman has joined Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani in making a bid for the Premier League club before tonight’s 10pm deadline.
Ratcliffe has long been linked with buying Manchester United — long before the club was even listed for the sale, but his popularity took a hit in recent days across social media amid interest from Qatar. We read tweets from Reds recently stating that he was the saviour, yet it wasn’t long ago that the INEOS billionaire wanted to save Chelsea from Roman Abramovic.
According to The Athletic, sources close to the bid say Ratcliffe wants to put “Manchester back into Manchester United” should he take over the Old Trafford club.
No offence to Ratcliffe, but did he or his PR team give much thought to that slogan? It’s terrible.
The 70-year-old is one of the richest men in Britain but it is unlikely that he will be able to compete with Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani in his request to buy United.
We can expect more developments on this story in the coming days.
There could be a few rounds of bidding to decide who will make the next hurdle. That is one way The Raine Group could look to get the best deal for the Glazers, who they are advising on the sale.
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