Man Utd takeover: Sir Jim Ratcliffe proposes three-person football committee with him, Joel Glazer and Sir Dave Brailsford
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is proposing a new Manchester United football committee, consisting of himself, Joel Glazer and Sir Dave Brailsford, if his deal to take over 25 percent of the club is approved.
As part of the £1.3 billion deal for a quarter of the Premier League club, Ratcliffe’s deal for a minority stake would give him control over the football operations at Old Trafford.
The Glazer family would retain control of the commercial side of the business, but Ratcliffe would also have a say in those matters due to his stake in the club.
Ratcliffe’s deal is still being finalized, but whatever happens, United are unlikely to be big spenders in the January transfer window.
As revealed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in an interview with The Athletics Last month the Glazers typically allowed their managers to make three major signings a year, and United generally prefer to do the bulk of their business in the summer.
Man Utd’s proposed football committee: a who’s who…
Sir Jim Ratcliffe (left) and Sir Dave Brailsford (right)
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is close to acquiring 25 percent of Manchester United for £1.3 billion. He owns cycling team INEOS Grenadiers, Ligue 1 club Nice, which he took over in 2019, and FC Lausanne-Sport, a Swiss Super League club.
The Greater Manchester-born billionaire also owns a third of the Mercedes Formula 1 team. Mercedes driver Sir Lewis Hamilton describes Ratcliffe as “part boss and part partner”.
Joel Glazer is the current Manchester United Executive Co-Chairman.
Sir Dave Brailford is sports director of INEOS and also team boss of the INEOS Grenadiers cycling team. They have not won the Tour de France since 2019 and do not have a rider in the top 10 of the UCI rankings.
Is Ratcliffe’s deal getting closer?
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French football expert Jonathan Johnson explains how Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s OGC Nice have fared under his ownership
One indication that Ratcliffe’s deal with United is getting closer is a report from Bloomberg claiming that INEOS will hold a credit update at 3pm on Monday to keep shareholders informed. The petrochemical company does not comment.
Manchester United’s board meeting on Thursday was standard practice and was not convened to discuss this deal specifically. They are usually partly virtual because the Glazer family is based in the United States.
It is also unlikely that the strategic review that led to the drawn-out takeover race involving Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim will be resolved after it was announced last November.
The Qatari bid led by Sheikh Jassim withdrew from the process eight months last weekend after initially announcing its plans to purchase Man Utd. It is believed this was the only offer for 100 percent of the club.
Ratcliffe initially wanted to buy the Glazers’ 69 percent stake, but has agreed to leave the American family with their majority stake pending a possible full takeover.