Manchester United’s takeover saga has been the major talking point surrounding Old Trafford since the Glazer family opened the club up to the market last November.
A year on, it looks a though Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS consortium have won the race to invest in United after Sheikh Jassim’s full sale offers were rejected by the current owners.
Sir Jim appears to have agreed a 25% stake in the club with £245 million being rumoured as the investment figure.
It’s important to note Ratcliffe’s proposal is yet to be officially confirmed by the club but the partnership is set to be communicated in the coming weeks.
As reported by The Mirror, former United captain Gary Neville has spoken on his feelings toward the rumoured figures of investment.
Speaking on the ‘Gary Neville Podcast’ for Sky Sports, the former defender says fans will not be overly impressed by the reported numbers as investment into the decaying Old Trafford would require much deeper funds than those currently being tabled by Ratcliffe.
“You don’t sit here as a Manchester United fan, wholly impressed by the idea of £245m going in to improve the stadium because we know that Real Madrid and Barcelona are spending a billion to get their stadiums right with a full refit.
“We know that other clubs have spent significantly more. So, we know that is not actually going to touch the sides properly of a full refurb of Old Trafford,” he said.
However, Neville does believe that Ratcliffe’s business acumen is enough to suggest he has further plans for Old Trafford and the initial sum is likely to form the initial part of a instalment plan to restore the ground to its former glory.
“But what it is, is a significant amount of money – and Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a smart and successful businessman.
“He’s not going to put £245m into something and let it go down the drain, so I suspect it is probably the first instalment of some sort of plan that means that they will phase the refurbishment of the stadium over two or three different seasons,” said Neville.
As mentioned, Ratcliffe is hoping to complete his deal for a stake in the club in the coming weeks and will be hoping United can muster up some form in time for his takeover.
United travel to Copenhagen for a must-win Champions League Group A game tonight, before hosting Luton Town in the Premier League on Saturday.