13 months after the Glazers brothers put MU up for sale, this much-ink-consuming deal to change owners has ended. In the end, the Glazers decided not to sell MU outright but only sold 25% of their shares to Sir Jim Ratcliffe. This helps them still own and profit from England’s top football team.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe officially took over management of MU. (Photo: Sky).
On the homepage, MU announced confirmation of selling 25% of shares to Sir Jim Ratcliffe on Christmas Day (December 24). According to British media, Sir Jim Ratcliffe spent 1.3 billion pounds to buy 25% of class B shares held by the Glazers. In addition, the British billionaire also offered to buy 25% of the total class A shares with the aim of acquiring the entire club in the future.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his company, INEOS, will be assigned the responsibility of managing MU’s football activities. This will include all aspects of the operations and the Men’s and Women’s Football Academy, along with two seats on the Manchester United PLC corporate board and the MU Club board.
Speaking after taking over MU, Sir Jim Ratcliffe shared: “Our common ambition is very clear: We all want to see Man United return to where we belong, the pinnacle of English football, Europe and the world.
As a loyal fan of the team, I am very happy that we have reached an agreement with the board of directors to directly manage the club in the near future.”
In addition to owning 25% of MU’s shares, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is expected to invest an additional 237 million pounds (300 million Euros) in the club’s infrastructure, including Old Trafford. Of which, 168 million pounds will be paid out immediately after closing the transaction between the parties and the remaining amount will be disbursed by the end of 2024.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, 71 years old, is the second richest billionaire in England with a fortune of up to 30 billion pounds. Before investing in MU, he owned many other sports teams, including French club Nice.
