As revealed by the Times and Ineos themselves, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has joined the race to buy Manchester United from the Glazer family.
After many years of being much maligned around the world by Red Devils fans, it appears the American ownership has finally had enough and is searching for the highest bidder.
Among those could be Ratcliffe, who already tried to enter the Premier League market by bidding for Chelsea, before Todd Boehly stepped in with more money.
Buying Manchester United would be a far more personal matter for the businessman, who is a fan of the club, and that’s why it wouldn’t be surprising to see him pull out all the stops to get his way.
Meanwhile, the news in France has been received in a mixed manner, as Ratcliffe’s company, Ineos, also owns OGC Nice.
Should he end up buying Manchester United, that could be a conflict of interest as the two would not be able to face each other in the same European competition, but we are a long way from that yet.
L’Equipe have a report on the situation, where they make it clear the news of the British businessman’s plans to enter the race for the Premier League side didn’t come as a surprise to the French club, who told the newspaper they have known about it for ‘several months’: “We were kept informed”.
In fact, INEOS have no plans in stopping their funding or ownership of the Ligue 1 team, as “even in the event of success of Ineos in the takeover of Manchester United, OGC Nice will not be impacted.”
Furthermore, there is a bit of excitement at the prospect of the two clubs being owned by the same backer, as rather than being worried about a potential synergy, L’Equope state those managing the French side say they are ‘pleased that Nice could eventually become a springboard or bridge club for Manchester United’.
