Manchester United are to be the subject of an ownership bid from Sir Jim Ratcliffe on behalf of chemical giant INEOS. Ratcliffe has set out his intentions to make "Manchester United the number one club in the world once again", in a clear warning to Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and every club hopeful of dominating the game on the global stage.
Interested parties were told to submit offers ahead of Friday evening's 10pm 'soft deadline', as set out by the Raine Group who are overseeing the sale of United on behalf of the Glazer family, the same role they performed in the takeover of Chelsea last year. Prior to that deadline, Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the chairman of one of Qatar's banks QIB, tabled a bid in the hopes of completing a full takeover of Manchester United.
Ratcliffe, who is from Manchester, has previously alluded to his interest in becoming the clubs new owner and last month he confirmed his intention to submit a formal offer to become majority owners, which has now also been confirmed by INEOS. However, it is unclear as of yet who else would make up the club's ownership should the INEOS bid be successful.
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A statement released by the company said: "We can confirm that 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.
"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."
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