Manchester United supporters are beginning to get excited about a potential change in ownership, amid continued dissatisfaction with the Glazer family.
United's current owners have been in charge since Sir Alex Ferguson's time as manager. However, amid unrest around factors on and off the pitch, it has emerged that they would be open to selling for the right price.
Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe is one of the individuals who has long been linked with a takeover. Now, with his representatives saying he would be open to taking a stake in the club, Ratcliffe's earlier comments on United have resurfaced.
Back in 2019, The Mirror exclusively reported that Ratcliffe didn't see value in the market when it came to English clubs. "After considering the cost involved and the necessary investment he chose Nice ahead of Premier League clubs he was in negotiations with," a business confidante of the 69-year-old said.
At Nice, Ratcliffe has placed a focus on recruitment and he has been outspoken on the fact that United have done that poorly. He criticised their immense spending on poor value in the transfer market and poor choice of managers - two areas he will presumably demand are managed far better should he ever complete a takeover.
“They haven’t got the manager selection right, haven’t bought well," Ratcliffe told the Times in 2019. "They have been the dumb money, which you see with players like Fred.
"United have spent an immense amount since Ferguson left and been poor, to put it mildly. Shockingly poor, to be honest. We have a different approach here to be moderately intelligent about it. Try to do it more grassroots, trying to locate young talent.
"Some clubs seem to have an ability to do that, Southampton, Lille. United have done it really poorly. They have lost the plot."
Ratcliffe is still the owner of Nice, who will play Europa League football this season. He met the Chelsea Supporters' Trust earlier this year as the Blues underwent an ownership battle which was eventually won by Todd Boehly's group.
He is a Manchester United fan, though he has yet to bid for the club. And he has also spoken in the past about the fact they are "in a big pickle" on the business side of things, something he will, again, demand is changed if he has a say.
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"You know, I have a split allegiance, effectively, really,” he said in May. "When I was in London for many many years, Chelsea I could go and watch, it was quite difficult to go and watch United.
"Yes, I mean, I can understand that (the calls for him to buy United) but Manchester United is not for sale," he added. He also said in 2019 that the club were in "a big pickle as a business", though there have since at least been apparent changes when it comes to the possibility of a sale
“This is not about the money that has been spent or not spent," a spokesperson for Ratcliffe told The Times. "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."
The Glazers are said to want £5bn to sell United, and a similar sum was involved in Boehly's takeover of Chelsea. Billionaire Elon Musk is not among the potential buyers, though, after confirming a tweet hinting at a bid was a joke.
Fan protests directed at the Glazers are planned in advance of the home Premier League game against Liverpool. Man Utd fan group the 1958 described them as "An ownership that is systematically starving and killing the greatest football institution in world football, for greed".
