Sir Jim Ratcliffe has spoken out on his interest and involvement in the bidding process for the takeover of Manchester United.
The Englishman lodged a bid of a reported £4.3 billion last month, falling short of Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani’s £4.5 billion offer, though neither of which met the Glazers’ £6 billion valuation.
Consequently, all interested parties, including those that have not gone public, have been asked by the Raine Group to submit revised offers in the coming days.
Last week was pivotal to the sale process, as both the public bidders met with the club to discuss the next steps. Ratcliffe met with the United hierarchy in person, whilst the Qatar-based investor sent a delegation to Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe is a Manchester-born Red Devils fan and was there in 1999 to see the side complete a historic treble at the Camp Nou, though he reportedly held a season ticket with Premier League rivals Chelsea. He is the CEO of petrochemicals firm INEOS and already owns Ligue 1 side Nice.
Jim Ratcliffe on United interest
Speaking to Wall Street Journal and shared by The Telegraph, the Englishman opened up on his interest in United and his involvement in the ongoing sale process, admitting that he will not be paying a “stupid” figure.
He said: “How do you decide the price of a painting? How do you decide the price of a house? It’s not related to how much it cost to build or how much it cost to paint. What you don’t want to do is pay stupid prices for things because then you regret it subsequently.
“Our interest in that club would be purely in winning things.”
The report from The Telegraph added:
Ratcliffe said he regarded United as a “community asset” rather than a financial one.
Ratcliffe admitted the pursuit of United was different to many of his other business investments. “That in a sense goes without saying, because sport is emotional,” he added.
