Sir Jim Ratcliffe insists he ‘cannot contemplate failure’ if he is chosen to take over Manchester United with the billionaire still in talks to buy the club from the Glazers
- Man United takeover saga is still rumbling on with the Glazers playing hardball
- Bidder Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he could not consider failure if he was chosen
- The club’s share price plummeted after news the Glazers could half the sale
Manchester United bidder Sir Jim Ratcliffe insists he cannot contemplate failure is he is selected to purchase the club – as the Old Trafford takeover saga rumbles on.
The British billionaire, who heads up the INEOS group, is one of two contenders to take over the Red Devils from the Glazer brother Avram and Joel – who have been in charge since 2005 – alongside Qatari Sheikh Jassim, with both men submitting offers in the region of £5billion.
But the takeover has hit a hitch in recent weeks after Mail Sport reported that the Glazers were going to take the club off the market, resulting in United’s stock plunging by 21 per cent at one stage as the New York Stock Exchange reacted to the report.
However, news later emerged that the two bidders had not been informed that the sale was off, with those close to the process claiming nothing had changed.
Both bids are some way short of the Glazers’ valuation with negotiations understood to be ongoing and Ratcliffe – who is the second richest person in Britain – has spoken out on his potential plans for the club if he was successful.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has insisted he could not consider failure if he was chosen to buy Man United
Manchester United ‘s takeover saga is rumbling on – with the club’s share price suffering a record £600million drop after a report the Glazers (pictured) could halt the sale
Both Ratcliffe and fellow frontrunner Sheikh Jassim have not been informed that the sale is off
The club’s supporters have been involved in protests against the Glazers over their running of the club in recent years, with news they could pull out of the sale only heightening tensions – as the Red Devils continue their battle to bring the club back to its former glory.
Talking to INEOS’ YouTube channel, Ratcliffe said he could not imagine failing with a club like United, saying doing so would be ‘painful and excruciating’.
‘The Manchester United bid would have been unthinkable two or three years ago if we hadn’t had some of the experiences – quite a few of them some quite difficult experiences with Lausanne and Nice,’ he said.
’You can’t really contemplate acquiring a brand like Manchester United and failing because the failure is just far too public and excruciating, failing in a deal like that.’
The club’s owners announced they would explore investment options last November but the slow pace of negotiations have left fans frustrated
The American owners announced last November that they would explore investment options, including the prospect of a full sale.
But lengthy delays to talks and the slow pace of negotiations has led to huge frustration among impatient fans and pundits connected to the club.
A source believes the logic for taking United off the market now is that the family will try to sell again in 2025, when they hope they may attract more bidders.
Legendary defender Gary Neville accusing the Glazers of using United as a ‘toy’. However, he still claimed they will eventually sell as he savaged the pair following United’s 3-1 loss to Arsenal this month.
United supporters staged a recent sit-in protest in a bid to convince the Glazers to sell up
‘It’s just a game for them, they think it’s a toy!’ Neville raged on the latest edition of his Sky podcast. ‘Of course they’re going to sell. They’re desperate for money.
‘They can’t even compete on FFP [Financial Fair Play] anymore. Man Utd are talking like a midtable club when it comes to the transfer market. Man Utd turn over £500million, one of the highest revenue generating clubs in the world.
‘Chelsea, Arsenal can sign big players, Man Utd are scrambling around on FFP. I know they’ve had losses on Covid and that could be thrown as an excuse.
‘Today was a fantastic game but it won’t change the fact that they’ve got owners of one of the biggest clubs in the world who are messing around with the football club and I’m not going to stop talking about it because it’s a massive problem.’
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