August 17 – Leon Musk, the world’s richest man, may have been joking when he tweeted about his interest in buying Manchester United but another billionaire is reported to be deadly serious.
Britain’s richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is believed to be watching the situation in case the club is put up for sale by the Glazer family.
United have declined to comment about all rumours and speculation. But 69-year-old Ratcliffe, who owns French Ligue 1 side Nice and Switzerland’s FC Lausanne-Sport, is a lifelong United fan
Ratcliffe’s spokesperson told The Times: “If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer. If something like this was possible, we would be interested in talking with a view to long-term ownership.
“This is not about the money that has been spent or not spent. Jim is looking at what can be done now and, knowing how important the club is to the city, it feels like the time is right for a reset.”
Ratcliffe’s interest comes following a report the Glazer family are considering selling a minority stake in Manchester United, according to Bloomberg.
One of the world’s biggest clubs, the “Red Devils” are languishing at the bottom of England’s Premier League and have seen eight coaches come and go in less than 10 years.
Ratcliffe made a late entry to the bidding for Chelsea football club, making an offer of £4.25 billion, believed to be largest commitment to buying the club. At the time he issued a statement announcing his bid, saying: “This is a British bid, for a British club.”
He had shown interest in Chelsea before. In 2019 he was in talks with Roman Abramovich before the talks broke down and he bought Ligue1 side Nice.
Ratcliffe’s bid was the catalyst that suddenly accelerated the ‘all-American’ bid to conclusion rom Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck through the New York-based selling bank Raine Bank to the west coast-based investment fund Clearlake Capital.
Shares in Manchester United were up by 7.6% at one point in New York on Wednesday on news of the rumour, settling at rise of just over 6%, giving an equity valuation for the club of $2.2 billion.
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