Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to visit Old Trafford this week as his bid to buy Manchester United reaches the next stage.
The INEOS chairman has submitted an offer to complete a full takeover of the Premier League giants, with the Glazers open to finally relinquishing some control. Ratcliffe is one of two parties - along with Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani - to have declared their intention to purchase a majority stake in the Red Devils.
The soft deadline for potential suitors passed last month and now US merchant Raine Group is overseeing the second stage of the process. The next stage will involve prospective buyers being delivered a face-to-face presentation on the potential sale process.
Representatives of Al Thani are due in Manchester on Thursday, but Ratcliffe himself is expected to be part of the Ineos contingent 24 hours later, BBC Sport reports. The boyhood United fan will watch OGC Nice - the club he currently owns - in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night, before landing in the United Kingdom shortly after.
It is reported that parties will also visit the club’s Carrington training base as part of their visit. United won’t be present on Thursday as they take on Real Betis in the Europa League, but manager Erik ten Hag will be conducting media duties from there a day later.
Ratcliffe’s hopes of completing an acquisition could be simplified after UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin revealed the governing body were considering allowing clubs with the same owner to play one another in European competition.
Current rules forbid such matches from taking place, but Ceferin has suggested that UEFA were exploring whether to change that. “We are not thinking about Manchester United only,” he told Gary Neville’s The Overlap YouTube Channel.
“We've had five or six owners of clubs who want to buy another club. We have to see what to do. The options are that it stays like that or that we allow them to play in the same competition. I'm not sure yet.
We have to speak about these regulations and see what to do about it. There is more and more interest in this multi-club ownership.
“We shouldn't just say no for the investments for multi-club ownership, but we have to see what kind of rules we set in that case, because the rules have to be strict.”
The arrival of prospective owners is a positive for supporters who have grown increasingly concerned that the Glazers may not actually green light a full sale. Recent reports have suggested that there hasn’t been a bid to match their ambitious £5billion valuation and that the Glazers could try and secure a level of investment which would allow them to stay in situ.
Ratcliffe isn’t interested in that however and has detailed his plans for a full takeover to help re-establish United as the best club in world football.
"Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have submitted a bid for majority ownership of Manchester United Football Club. We would see our role as the long-term custodians of Manchester United on behalf of the fans and the wider community,” a statement released in February read.
"We are ambitious and highly competitive and would want to invest in Manchester United to make them the number one club in the world once again. We also recognise that football governance in this country is at a crossroads. We would want to help lead this next chapter, deepening the culture of English football by making the club a beacon for a modern, progressive, fan-centred approach to ownership.
"We want a Manchester United anchored in its proud history and roots in the North-West of England, putting the Manchester back into Manchester United and clearly focusing on winning the Champions League."
