Manchester United sells 25 percent ownership stake to Jim Ratcliffe

The Premier League (PL) team, Manchester United have sold 25 percent of the company’s shares to Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of INEOS.

In addition to acquiring up to 25% of Manchester United’s Class A shares, Ratcliffe has also acquired 25% of the team’s Class B shares. He is also going to add another $300 million, which will be used to help with future Old Trafford projects.

In exchange for the contract, INEOS has committed to managing the club’s football operations, including the academy and the men’s and women’s teams. Furthermore, this responsibility involves holding two seats on the boards of Manchester United and Manchester United PLC.

“The joint ambition is to create a world-class football operation building on the club’s many existing strengths, including the successful off-pitch performance that it continues to enjoy,” a statement from the club read.

Born and raised in Manchester, Ratcliffe acknowledged the difficulties of taking over a team that is dealing with serious problems on the pitch. This season, the team got eliminated from the UEFA Champions League from the group stage itself and isn’t even in the top four in the PL heading into the holiday season.

“As a local boy and a lifelong supporter of the club, I am very pleased that we have been able to agree a deal with the Manchester United Board that delegates us management responsibility of the football operations of the club. Whilst the commercial success of the club has ensured there have always been available funds to win trophies at the highest level, this potential has not been fully unlocked in recent times. We will bring the global knowledge, expertise, and talent from the wider INEOS Sport group to help drive further improvement at the Club, while also providing funds intended to enable future investment into Old Trafford.

“We are here for the long term and recognise that a lot of challenges and hard work lie ahead, which we will approach with rigour, professionalism and passion. We are committed to working with everyone at the club—the Board, staff, players, and fans,- to help drive the club forward. Our shared ambition is clear: we all want to see Manchester United back where we belong, at the very top of English, European and world football,” the statement from Ratcliffe read.

Following the deal’s conclusion, United’s Executive Co-Chairmen and Directors, Joel and Avram Glazer, released a joint statement claiming that it will aid in improving the team and its footballing activities.

“We are delighted to have agreed this deal with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS. As part of the strategic review we announced in November 2022, we committed to look at a variety of alternatives to help enhance Manchester United, with a focus on delivering success for our men’s, women’s and Academy teams.

“Sir Jim and INEOS bring a wealth of commercial experience as well as significant financial commitment into the Club. And, through INEOS Sport, Manchester United will have access to seasoned high-performance professionals, experienced in creating and leading elite teams from both inside and outside the game. Manchester United has talented people right across the Club and our desire is to always improve at every level to help bring our great fans more success in the future,” the statement read.