Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of Britain’s richest people, has confirmed he has entered the bidding to buy Manchester United from the Glazer family.
The Ineos chairman, whose wealth in 2020 was estimated at $28.2billion, is a lifelong United supporter from Greater Manchester.
The petrochemicals billionaire is the owner of Nice, Swiss team FC Lausanne-Sport and the Tour de France-winning cycling team Ineos Grenadiers, which he took over from Team Sky, and submitted a £4.25billion bid for Chelsea before Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital sealed their takeover.
The Glazers have owned United since 2005 but announced in November that they were considering a sale when they said they were “commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives”.
And a spokesperson for Ratcliffe told The Times: “We have formally put ourselves into the process.”
United are also expected to attract interest from the Middle East, while the price paid for Chelsea could mean they command a record price.
Ratcliffe, who turned down the chance to bid for Liverpool, wants to acquire United for under £5billion while the Glazers are thought to value the club at £6billion.
The Raine Group, who conducted the sale of Chelsea, are in charge of the Glazers’ search for investment or a buyer.
United had a turnover of £583.2 million for the 2021-22 season but still made a net loss of £115.5 million, while their debt was over £500 million.
