British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group officially joined the race to buy Manchester United on Tuesday.
United’s owners, the Glazer family, said they were willing to listen to offers for the English Premier League club in November last year, and Ratcliffe is keen to strike a deal.
Boyhood United fan Ratcliffe, who made an unsuccessful bid to buy Chelsea last year, has long been linked with the Old Trafford outfit.
Photo: AFP
“I can confirm that we have formally put ourselves into the process,” an Ineos spokesman said.
After failing with his Chelsea takeover when Roman Abramovich sold the Blues to US tycoon Todd Boehly and his consortium, Ratcliffe is back in the hunt for a Premier League giant.
United have yet to comment on the news of the 70-year-old’s interest in taking over from the US-based Glazers.
Born in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, Ratcliffe is one of the UK’s richest men and might be more palatable to United supporters than the Glazers, who have experienced numerous fan protests during their troubled reign.
The Glazers, who completed a leveraged takeover of the club in 2005, have proved deeply unpopular with supporters due to the team’s declining fortunes on the pitch in the past few years.
Their purchase of United also saddled the club with huge debts.
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