Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to commit £245 million of his own money into improving the infrastructure at Manchester United, as part of his bid to acquire 25% control of the club.
Mark Kleinman (Sky News) has revealed the INEOS offer is set to be “unveiled” this month, with the sizeable investment pledge attached to it. The £245 million will be will be personally financed by Ratcliffe and would not add to the club’s existing debts.
EXCLUSIVE: Sir Jim Ratcliffe will commit $300m (£245m) from his multibillion pound fortune to @ManUtd's ageing physical infrastructure as part of a deal – expected to be sealed this month – that will see Ineos Sports buying a 25% stake in the Red Devils. https://t.co/EGfnEWPowA
— Mark Kleinman (@MarkKleinmanSky) November 3, 2023
When this is combined with the potential fee required to secure the minority stake, it means Ratcliffe’s initial investment into United on day one could reach a figure in the region of £1.5 billion.
Kleinman indicates this number may vary, however, dependent on the the price ultimately agreed for the shares.
Sources close to the deal indicate the investment will be staggered with the “bulk” of it being provided at the end of the year. One such individual confirmed the investment will be “focused” on the United’s physical infrastrcture, not the sporting side of the operation.
The prospective costs for the comprehensive revamp Old Trafford requires are thought to be in excess of £1 billion.
Sky Sports understands Ratcliffe is “understood to be committed to investing additional sums” in the future, but there has been no confirmation of this. It would be unlikely he would be willing to provide significant additional investment without being granted an accordantly greater share of the control of the club however.
It also remains unclear what United fans can expect from their club in the January transfer market should Ratcliffe’s bid, which is thought to include control over the football department, be confirmed.
United are currently experiencing a crisis on the pitch, with Erik ten Hag’s side enduring eight losses from their opening sixteen games.
Reports are emerging that the Dutchman may be losing the dressing room, with the players’ performances indicating they are unresponsive to his instructions. There is a depressing familiarity to these stories, however, with parallels being drawn to the demise of previous United managers.
The root cause of these issues appear to go far deeper than Ten Hag, with the lack of competent leadership above him and the complete absence of investment or interest from the owners enabling a profound rot at Old Trafford.
Which is why the prospect of meaningful change at the executive level above him may offer an end to this vicious cycle, though questions remain about exactly how this would be achieved.
Joel Glazer appears set to maintain influence on football decisions, which throws doubt onto what this new structure will actually look like. Whether the changes will come in time to save Ten Hag is another question.
The minority stake deal, with the attached investment pledge, is expected to be announced within two weeks, though with negotiations between representatives of Ratcliffe and the Glazers still ongoing, this may also be subject to change.