Sir Jim Ratcliffe: I want to buy Manchester United | Will make a bid for the club [Telegraph]

Revaulx

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I keep hearing that Ratcliffe hasn't done anything Nice and is by and large a poor owner, which to me couldn't be further from the truth.
He has stated (actually his brother has) several times that the investment into Nice is hampered by FFP restrictions, which is why they have made steady but unspectacular signings.
Most of their signings have been young players for future planning, Ratcliffe has improved the youth structure, training facilities and scouting networks at the club.

Also Ratcliffe has made it clear that Nice are just a stepping stone, a part of something bigger, he wants a third football team, a bigger team, so he can almost use Nice as a feeder style club rather like the red bull teams.

So whilst Nice haven't become a major force in France since the takeout, they have become a consistent upper mid table team with a steady foundation. They are severely hampered by their income which has stopped any major leaps but INEOS have made it clear that they are willing to keep putting in the money.

Seems like a step above the Glazers to me.
Morgan Schneiderlin?
Ross Barkley?
Aaron Ramsey?
 

Revaulx

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You cant judge based purely based on 3 signings, it’s not representative.
Also the level that Nice are at those are 3 talented useful players to have in their squad.
Yeah maybe. Those three names did make me smile though.

I hope they aren’t paying Ramsey an absurd amount.
 

Champ

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Morgan Schneiderlin?
Ross Barkley?
Aaron Ramsey?
Majority of their signings are between 19 and 25, but those three have great experience which will help a young team alot.
 

Revaulx

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Majority of their signings are between 19 and 25, but those three have great experience which will help a young team alot.
Hmm. Ramsey maybe, though I hope they aren’t paying him what he was on at Juve.

Schneiderlin (crap) and Barkley (wasted career) are hardly the shining lights I’d want any youngsters in my care to be influenced by. Though credit to Barkley if he’s seen the light and has moved there in a serious attempt to revive his career.
 

Champ

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Hmm. Ramsey maybe, though I hope they aren’t paying him what he was on at Juve.

Schneiderlin (crap) and Barkley (wasted career) are hardly the shining lights I’d want any youngsters in my care to be influenced by. Though credit to Barkley if he’s seen the light and has moved there in a serious attempt to revive his career.
This is Nice, the likes of Barkley is a pretty big name all things considered.
I don't really think he's wasted his career, 33 England caps isn't something to be sniffed at.
 

Revaulx

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This is Nice, the likes of Barkley is a pretty big name all things considered.
I don't really think he's wasted his career, 33 England caps isn't something to be sniffed at.
Yikes! I had no idea he had anything like that number.
 

stw2022

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If you're starting from stand point that we accept we need huge capital investment surely someone like Sir Jim is worst possible owner

If you look at his assumed net worth and knock probably 30-40% on basis these rumoured figures are usually massively inflated and fact it will include wealth already tied up in existing assests, there's no way he can afford us without leveraging the deal in some way

I think it's fairly safe to assume there's no way he had funds to buy the club without seeking additional investment and borrowing. A billionaire with rumored net worth of £12bn doesn't have £6bn sitting in an account
 

Sparky Rhiwabon

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That’s a very cheap shot. For a start he actually has the money to buy the club, and isn’t just all talk and no walk.
Knighton had wealth, just not enough relative to what was needed at Manchester United. Knighton was very enthusiastic about football and in owning and running a club, and did indeed own another club. Can’t you see the parallels?
 

stw2022

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His whole MO was to try and use fans and protests to drive down the price. This guy cannot afford this without selling a significant chunk of his majority ownership in his chemicals company, which isn't happening given Ineos are far more valuable and profitable than we are ever likely to be.
 

Elcabron

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Been offline a couple of days but I am bored and back now so lets deconstruct this post. I know it is punching down but Iran just destroyed my dreams of World Cup glory, in fact they destroyed my dreams of mere World Cup respectability and so swinging the bat at some low hanging fruit might make me feel better.



I realise he has a net worth of £15bn the vast majority of which is not liquid. He does not have £6bn in cash which is what I said so I am not sure what point you are trying to make. Net worth and cash on hand are two entirely different things, you do get that right?



He has openly spoken about viewing it as a business opportunity not to mention he would be purchasing it as part of the INEOS group as an investment. The fantasy that he is going to wipe away hundreds of millions of pounds of debt is comical. He might have a business plan to run the club more sustainably and eliminate the debt over time but he will not be giving away his own money.



Now we get to the projection part of your post. I have no agenda and he has done nothing to offend me personally. I don't call being a season ticket holder at Stamford Bridge for 10 years just going to a few games but whatever. I did not call him a diehard Chelsea fan I was just illustrating the point that he is not the United super fan that people seem to think he is, I don't honestly think he is a diehard fan of anyone or football in general, he is a businessman. He might be better than the Glazers but he is a businessman first and foremost and he won't buy the club unless he sees profit in it for himself.



Congratulations! You put 2+2 together and got 5. Whether he was for or against Brexit is immaterial. I was making a point about the difference between promises and reality and unless you think Brexit has been a booming success and the Project Leave team never told any lies then you would have understood that.
Where you said above "He might have a business plan to run the club more sustainably and eliminate the debt over time but he will not be giving away his own money."

I'd be fine with that and indeed I'd prefer that to oil state ownership to be honest.
 

stw2022

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That’s a very cheap shot. For a start he actually has the money to buy the club, and isn’t just all talk and no walk.
I don't think he does. He's been effectively trying to drive down price by fuelling discontentment. He certainly cannot afford without selling off significant share of his Ineos business.

I think he'd be in the game if the reality was that due to fan pressure he has been trying to Stoke the Glazers were looking for a quick, cut-and-run sale. A hunt for 'investors' with the aim of presumably getting a price significantly over and above market value I can't see him in the running.


Almost all of his wealth is tied up in Ineos ownership. Would he relinquish £2bn or £3bn of the chemicals company if that's what he could get club for? Possibly. £6bn or £7bn? I'd say probably not
 

stw2022

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Nothing about his interest ever rang true. He was exclusively putting his case in the media rather than actually trying to seriously purchase the club. When people started to notice and question this then came the claim the Glazers weren't interested in selling.

Five minutes later we're openly advertising ourselves for investment/buyers. How do we go I'm such a short space of time from 'feck off James we're simply not interested in even discussing this' to that statement released a few days ago unless Sir Jim's claims were total fabrication?

The club would have known at time Ratcliffe claimed he got cold shouldered that they were planning to appeal to investors. Why would they then not engage constructively?

Nothing about his starring role in this saga these last few months has ever added up.
 

Plant0x84

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Knighton had wealth, just not enough relative to what was needed at Manchester United. Knighton was very enthusiastic about football and in owning and running a club, and did indeed own another club. Can’t you see the parallels?
Knighton was a nut job who went full kit wanker on the pitch at half time then bought a smaller club and appointed himself manager. The Utd bid was only ever a PR ‘look at me’ type deal. He never had the money himself, which is why the deal collapsed when his backers pulled out. He was fortunate to get a seat in the board and not just be told to sling his hook.
Radcliffe is a serious businessman who will only invest if he believes it will benefit himself AND the club. He and INEOS have the money to back it up, and he has also said previously that he would include former players in his bid - which would provide an insight into the club that he may currently be lacking.
 

Sparky Rhiwabon

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Knighton was a nut job who went full kit wanker on the pitch at half time then bought a smaller club and appointed himself manager. The Utd bid was only ever a PR ‘look at me’ type deal. He never had the money himself, which is why the deal collapsed when his backers pulled out. He was fortunate to get a seat in the board and not just be told to sling his hook.
Radcliffe is a serious businessman who will only invest if he believes it will benefit himself AND the club. He and INEOS have the money to back it up, and he has also said previously that he would include former players in his bid - which would provide an insight into the club that he may currently be lacking.
It’s all relative. Ratcliffe is wealthy beyond most people's dreams but he doesn’t have enough wealth to compete with the Oil clubs, it would be a set up more similar to the Glazers.
 

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe

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I backtracked on nothing, he could be better he could be worse.
How can you genuinely believe there is a 50/50 chance that he could be even worse than the Glazers? Have you seen what the Glazers have done to the club over the last 17 years? That would take some topping.
 

Champ

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Do people on here actually realise that Ratcliffe himself doesn't own the football teams, his company INEOS are the actual investors?

INEOs havea 65 billion dollar turnover.

It doesn't matter what Ratcliffes finances are like as he won't be using that to buy the club.
 

Gandalf

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How can you genuinely believe there is a 50/50 chance that he could be even worse than the Glazers? Have you seen what the Glazers have done to the club over the last 17 years? That would take some topping.
He and his company have done some pretty awful things over the years so I wouldn’t put anything past him. Until he actually decides to make a bid and outlines his plans I will remain sceptical. Remember, a pessimist is never disappointed.
 

Hal9000

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The debt goes when the club is sold
The debt is against the club not the Glazers, that can sell without paying off the debt and whoever buys can just keep the debt and service the interest like Glazers have been doing.
 

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If he can’t afford to take the club out of debt then I’d prefer someone else
While i agree, i wonder what "sponsorship" might mitigate any debt. I can only see debt increasing with JR therefore i'm not in favour.

Can take us out of debt but financially can't provide the same level of backing as middle east
That is something that cannot be determined, we dont know the price or his liquidity. Ineos had 2b in 2021, in not sure they could unless they pull money in another way.
 

Plant0x84

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Nothing about his interest ever rang true. He was exclusively putting his case in the media rather than actually trying to seriously purchase the club. When people started to notice and question this then came the claim the Glazers weren't interested in selling.

Five minutes later we're openly advertising ourselves for investment/buyers. How do we go I'm such a short space of time from 'feck off James we're simply not interested in even discussing this' to that statement released a few days ago unless Sir Jim's claims were total fabrication?

The club would have known at time Ratcliffe claimed he got cold shouldered that they were planning to appeal to investors. Why would they then not engage constructively?

Nothing about his starring role in this saga these last few months has ever added up.
On the contrary, I feel he has played this situation very well. It’s been known for a while he would be interested in a PL team, specifically United. That’s why he was called out by Knighton - and he called Knighton’s bluff and shut him up by saying yes- I would buy it but it’s not for sale. That’s been a pretty consistent position from him for a few years. His late bid for Chelsea was only ever a message of ‘I’m serious, I’ve got the money and I want to do this’. It was a signal to the Glazers that there was a willing buyer ready to step in if they wanted it, but he stayed respectful of them so as not to catch them offside. His “I’m focusing on Nice” was a message to the Glazers get on with it or risk losing his interest - and seemingly it has worked.
Now he can actually get down to business and will do so in private I believe he will lodge a competitive bid, and time will tell if he is the preferred bidder or not.
 

Tarrou

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On the contrary, I feel he has played this situation very well. It’s been known for a while he would be interested in a PL team, specifically United. That’s why he was called out by Knighton - and he called Knighton’s bluff and shut him up by saying yes- I would buy it but it’s not for sale. That’s been a pretty consistent position from him for a few years. His late bid for Chelsea was only ever a message of ‘I’m serious, I’ve got the money and I want to do this’. It was a signal to the Glazers that there was a willing buyer ready to step in if they wanted it, but he stayed respectful of them so as not to catch them offside. His “I’m focusing on Nice” was a message to the Glazers get on with it or risk losing his interest - and seemingly it has worked.
Now he can actually get down to business and will do so in private I believe he will lodge a competitive bid, and time will tell if he is the preferred bidder or not.
I agree his stance and approach has made perfect sense so far. There is likely a bit of a negotiation going on in the background, and he doesn't want to pay what is being asked. So it stands to reason he's going to put out some contrarian messages to appear aloof at the thought of losing out, it's just business.

I hope he buys us, but my worry is he'll get out-bid because it's his company that will be the buyer, with a BoD and shareholders and all accountability that comes with that.
 

LARulz

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I really don't want this guy, not sure how he will be any different
 

Tarrou

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I really don't want this guy, not sure how he will be any different
the hope is that he will clear the debt and allow us to compete without debt and dividend payments

although, I obviously don't know if that will be the case.. he's a fan though, so that is one clear differential from the Glazers