Ratcliffe completes Man Utd purchase
British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe said becoming a coowner of Manchester United is a “great honour” and “responsibility” after his purchase of a minority stake was finalised on Tuesday.
The 71-year-old’s investment, which will give him control of football operations at the 20-time English champions, was approved by the Premier League and English Football Association last week.
It was announced on Dec 24 last year that Ratcliffe had agreed to buy a 25 per cent stake in United from unpopular owners the Glazer family in a deal worth around £1.02 billion.
Following the completion of that deal, the founder of petrochemicals giant Ineos Group Ltd has invested a further US$200 million to take his total stake to 27.7 per cent and will inject US$100 million more by year end to enable investment in infrastructure at Old Trafford here.
“This marks the completion of the transaction, but just the beginning of our journey to take Manchester United back to the top of English, European and world football, with world-class facilities for our fans,” Ratcliffe said in a club statement.
“Work to achieve those objectives will accelerate from today.”
United have not won the Premier League since former manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 and last won the Champions League in 2008, as their fortunes on the field have deteriorated during the Glazers’ reign.
The Americans have been deeply unpopular with supporters ever since a leveraged takeover of the club in 2005 saddled the club with hundreds of millions of dollars of debt.
A boyhood United fan, Ratcliffe has met with leading supporters’ groups and local politicians, as he charts a course to lead United back to the top on and off the field.
Omar Berrada has been poached from local rivals and Premier League champions Manchester City to be the club’s new chief executive officer.
A pursuit of Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth to be United’s sporting director is nearing completion, as Ratcliffe aims to revolutionise the Red Devils’ failing recruitment structure.
The deal is just the latest of a portfolio of sports investments by Ratcliffe’s Ineos, which has used its vast profits to fund a series of projects in football, cycling, Formula One, athletics and sailing.