With rumours circulating that a bid for the ownership of Manchester United could be on the horizon from Jim Ratcliffe. This article will take a look at who exactly he is, where he has accumulated his wealth and how he could be the new owner of Manchester United.
Who is he?
Born in 1952 in Failsworth, Jim Ratcliffe is a British billionaire businessman and chemical engineer. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ineos Group, a multinational chemical company. As of 2021 the fourth largest chemical company in the world. As of 2019 the company was estimated to have a turnover of $15 billion. Ratcliffe himself was named the richest person in the UK in 2018 with a net worth of £21.05 billion. So clearly funds are not an issue for him.
Whilst most of his wealth has come from his work in the chemicals industry and through ownership of Ineos, he has several other ventures that add to his small fortune. In 2017 he became owner of the Swiss Super League football club, FC Lausanne-Sport. 2018 saw Ratcliffe form Ineos Team UK to compete in the prestigious sailing competition, the America’s Cup. In 2019 he purchased the cycling team, Team Sky and subsequently rebranded them as Team Ineos. He has also become the owner of Ligue 1 team OGC Nice following a €100 million takeover. Ineos is also a primary sponsor of Mercedes AMG Formula 1 as well as New Zealand Rugby. Clearly then Jim Ratcliffe is no stranger to sports investing.
Why does this matter?
For those who were not aware, Jim Ratcliffe recently attempted a bid to purchase Chelsea. When the London club was forced to sell due to the issues with Roman Abramovich several wealthy bidders began to circle. Eventually, an American consortium fronted by Tedd Boehly secured the bid. Unfortunately for Ratcliffe, or fortunately for United fans this left the British billionaire without a stake in the Premier League.
Recently, rumours have begun to grow surrounding the possibility of an ownership bid from Ratcliffe for Manchester United. When speaking to the BBC after his failed Chelsea bid he said that the reason that he did not attempt a bid for the Red Devils was that his boyhood club was not for sale. Now, fans have begun to speculate that perhaps this might be the signs to come for an attempt to buy the club and force out the Glazer family. Something that we all want.
How likely is this?
I desperately want this to be true. Nothing would make me happier than to see those leeches out of our club. However, I’m not sure how real this is. It feels like a lot of the momentum around this story at the moment is fan driven. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of backing from more reliable sources. Is this simply wishful thinking from United fans who are sick to death with how this club is being run by a set of parasitic owners. Fans who can’t distract themselves with glory on the pitch as we have done in the past. Who knows? Currently, this story doesn’t feel much more than rumours. However, we can always hope that this might start to develop into something more. And if there are any more updates and details that follow, this is the best place to find out the latest.