Man Utd chiefs think Sir Jim Ratcliffe has major advantage over Sheikh Jassim takeover bid
Potential buyers of the Old Trafford club have until 9pm on Wednesday to submit a second offer, with meeting with INEOS last week impressing United with their sporting expertise
Manchester United bosses were impressed by the sporting expertise laid out by the INEOS group during Friday’s six-hour meetings.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s group included Sir Dave Brailsford, the former head of cycling who now serves as the petrochemical giant’s sporting director and should they end up as the next manager of the Old Trafford club he will be tasked with overhauling the club’s sporting structure.
Ratcliffe met head coach Erik ten Hag and shook hands with chief executive Richard Arnold.
And sources with direct knowledge of the meetings believe their familiarity with running elite teams is seen as a significant advantage over Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim’s bid.
Their delegation met with United officials on Thursday, with their camp saying the discussions had been positive but they had no first-hand knowledge of working in an elite sporting environment. There was no opportunity to meet Ten Hag because he was in Seville preparing the team for the Europa League game against Real Betis.
INEOS has owned Nice since 2019 – posing a potential issue under current UEFA rules should a Ratcliffe-owned United take on the Ligue 1 side in Europe – and has also been part of successful endeavors in Formula 1, cycling, in sailing and athletics.
A deadline of 9pm on Wednesday has been set for a second round of bids at Raine Group, the US commercial bank overseeing the potential sale of the club.
Both INEOS and Sheikh Jassim are set to submit elevated offers – but Ratcliffe has issued a warning that it’s a matter of beating the odds as the Glazers look for a staggering £6bn to sell them.
The Qatar group have deeper pockets but they have previously stressed they are reluctant to pay over the odds. Last year Chelsea was sold to an American consortium backed by Clearlake Capital for a record £2.5bn. Raine also oversaw this sale.
And while United’s history and status drives up the asking price, the need for infrastructure improvements at Old Trafford and their Carrington training base means a new owner is likely to face additional spending.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Ratcliffe said, “How do you price a painting? How do you determine the price of a house? It doesn’t depend on how much it costs to build it or how much it costs to paint it. You don’t want to pay stupid prices for things because you’ll regret it afterwards.”
But the 70-year-old went on to say United are a “common good” and his interest in becoming an owner is “purely focused on winning things”.
Reports say between three and seven other groups could make offers by Wednesday night. Elliott Sports Management, the former owners of AC Milan, are known to have an interest that would not see them take majority control but would likely see the Glazers stay put.
There is a possibility that the incumbent owners, who have been extremely unpopular with backers since acquiring them in a leveraged buyout in 2005, could decide to remain in charge if a bid close to their asking price fails to materialize.