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

[VP89]

He'll probably give Fletcher another promotion.

From what some respected journalists say, Fletcher is actually quite intelligent and seen to be a good part of the new look of the club.

 

[Real Name]

From what some respected journalists say, Fletcher is actually quite intelligent and seen to be a good part of the new look of the club.

I agree. I was just making a wee joke, not a good one.

 

[LordSpud]

I think if this Jim Ratcliffe solution doesnt happen then the Glazers will never go. They need to face it the club is on its knees and really think about selling up.

 

[Boondog]

I think that the Glazers want out because the infrastructure is in shambles and they don't have the money to rebuild it. Also the sponsors are starting to bail out.

Yeah I suspect the sponsors loom large in all this. And when all is said and done Ronaldo demanding to leave may prove to be the final straw. It's hard to imagine that they have the cash to solve sponsor unhappiness of not having a superstar. They can't solve that one by firing the coach.

 

[Shark]

From what some respected journalists say, Fletcher is actually quite intelligent and seen to be a good part of the new look of the club.

Well if true, his intelligence is having next to zero impact on our performance on the pitch. He's been here a while now.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Gouiri on deadline day?

Maybe but it would also allow us to move players around for development from the academy with some autonomy on playing time. There are a number of clubs that do this already, including City.

 

[MonkeysMagic]

When the dust settles on this latest 'will they/won't they' sale talk, we will all realise that the minority stake sale was just an exercise for the Glazers to extract more cash out of the club without servicing the debt or investment in recruitment or infrastructure. Sadly these leeches are here to stay for a few more years!

 

[VP89]

Well if true, his intelligence is having next to zero impact on our performance on the pitch. He's been here a while now.

Yeah, but I wonder if thats because of the volatility of Ole to Rangnick moreso than Fletcher struggling. It's too opaque to know whats going on really, but the perceived impact of Fletcher isn't believed to be incompetent by the good journos at least.

 

[Brophs]

I’d be very surprised if this came to a head so soon. It makes much more sense, as others have said, to get cash though a minority sale and then play this thing out a little longer. Their dream is for the Super League to get off the ground and suddenly it’s a different world.

 

[Real Name]

If we miss again on CL Adidas cuts the money, right?

 

[Gordon Godot]

A minority stake to private equity doesnt address teh fundamental problem. The process has started and now we need to ramp up the process to get them out.

 

[Green Arrow]

If we miss again on CL Adidas cuts the money, right?

As far as I know that’s correct.

 

[Mickeza]

Well if true, his intelligence is having next to zero impact on our performance on the pitch. He's been here a while now.

Considering he doesn’t pick the team, he doesn’t pick who we we sign, he doesn’t decide how we play, he doesn’t decide how much we spend and he doesn’t hire the sporting director I’m not entirely sure why that’s on him.

 

[LordSpud]

As far as I know that’s correct.

Instead of the 75m per year they pay us they will only pay 50m. Not sure if that stacks up even more the following year but its for sure a slippery slope because I just cant see us getting CL for the next few years.

 

[iato89]

When the dust settles on this latest 'will they/won't they' sale talk, we will all realise that the minority stake sale was just an exercise for the Glazers to extract more cash out of the club without servicing the debt or investment in recruitment or infrastructure. Sadly these leeches are here to stay for a few more years!

the less stake they have the better, if they sell that minority stake to someone like Ratcliff it will be for a future long term sale, if the sale goes to an investment fund then it might be...

 

[Counterfactual]

When the dust settles on this latest 'will they/won't they' sale talk, we will all realise that the minority stake sale was just an exercise for the Glazers to extract more cash out of the club without servicing the debt or investment in recruitment or infrastructure. Sadly these leeches are here to stay for a few more years!

How long would you hold on to an asset which had massively appreciated, but now appeared to be on the decline? Bear in mind it's an asset which you have mis-managed and have no idea how to revive.

 

[Woodzy]

So, obviously Musk wasn't actually interested but could the reason behind his tweet in the first place be because he knew the club is for sale?

 

[Tarrou]

I’d be very surprised if this came to a head so soon. It makes much more sense, as others have said, to get cash though a minority sale and then play this thing out a little longer. Their dream is for the Super League to get off the ground and suddenly it’s a different world.

it only helps them play it out longer if they put the cash from the equity sale back into the club.. the club needs investment which is why their strategy is going belly up

you honestly see that happening? How much? 100m, 200m, 300m?

also, what private equity firm is giving these clowns more cash to run this business for longer?

it actually makes no sense really, when you think about it

 

[OverratedOpinion]

So, obviously Musk wasn't actually interested but could the reason behind his tweet in the first place be because he knew the club is for sale?

He tweeted after that he was just making a commonly made Twitter joke. The same as McGregor about a year ago.

 

[Green Arrow]

Instead of the 75m per year they pay us they will only pay 50m. Not sure if that stacks up even more the following year but its for sure a slippery slope because I just cant see us getting CL for the next few years.

Agreed with the squad needing complete overhaul it’s not happening for a few years especially if the Glazers are still here with that Apollo group.

 

[hellhunter]

He tweeted after that he was just making a commonly made Twitter joke. The same as McGregor about a year ago.

Timing would still suggest he knew something. I'd expect he was among the potential investors approached over the minority stake

 

[GreatDane]

So, obviously Musk wasn't actually interested but could the reason behind his tweet in the first place be because he knew the club is for sale?

Very likely, or he might have been hit up for a small investment in the 0,001%'ers groupchat.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

Timing would still suggest he knew something. I'd expect he was among the potential investors approached over the minority stake

Or just that he saw that we were trending after the Brentford game with loads of stuff about fans wanting new owners.

 

[thegregster]

Instead of the 75m per year they pay us they will only pay 50m. Not sure if that stacks up even more the following year but its for sure a slippery slope because I just cant see us getting CL for the next few years.

The addias deal is up in 2024 anyway. So it's only 1 season.

 

[redshaw]

I can see the club increasing in value along with others but it's also a good time to cash in. It's been a very good earner and investment by their dad for them, earned hundreds of millions and just sitting on the asset has quadrupled in value. The big money obviously is cashing in and what they plan to do with it and their younger families. They could wait until it's worth 6 billion but I think they realize they can't elevate the club and any extra value will be the game itself expanding more.

For us fans the galling aspect is we've had the money to fund multiple stadiums outright or be easily paid off by now while being competitive on the field with less money spent had they hired people capable of running a football club or never bought it. Instead we have a decaying stadium/facilities, a billion of the clubs money spent on the team completely mismanaged, hundreds of millions lost in CL money and a billion lost on the interest to banks so they could have the privilege of sitting on a valuable asset that would now be illegal. Absolutely scandalous how much has been lost and how the club has been set back. We might never return with the oil clubs and capital cities coming up. We've spent a decade just being caught up and overtaken.

 

[Bebestation]

Is this guy actually loaded? Like money enough to have us spending like a rich club?

 

[hellhunter]

Is this guy actually loaded? Like money enough to have us spending like a rich club?

His estimated wealth is about twice that of Roman's, but I don't see him going all sugar daddy on us

 

[Brophs]

it only helps them play it out longer if they put the cash from the equity sale back into the club.. the club needs investment which is why their strategy is going belly up

you honestly see that happening? How much? 100m, 200m, 300m?

also, what private equity firm is giving these clowns more cash to run this business for longer?

it actually makes no sense really, when you think about it

I think you may be misreading what their strategy is. At this moment in time, I think we’re seeing it. Executed badly, obviously, but nonetheless. It doesn’t factor in huge capital input or investment, however they come by it.

As to number, at a speculated value of £5bn, I’d expect a minority sale of somewhere between 10-15%.

In terms of which firm will give it, I’m not sure who’s in that market right now. Quite a few would have a good look, though. In football finance there’s a view, rightly or wrongly, which has been borne out by Boehly’s deal, that football clubs have a massive amount of growth still left in them.

 

[phelans shorts]

Yeah, but I wonder if thats because of the volatility of Ole to Rangnick moreso than Fletcher struggling. It's too opaque to know whats going on really, but the perceived impact of Fletcher isn't believed to be incompetent by the good journos at least.

But what do they know compared to devilish

 

[sewey89]

A lot of noise, which I refuse to believe out of sheer pessimism.. But it's a good time for the Glazers to sell. Our value and stock is going down and the only way that'll go up is if they start spending. So if they don't want to spend, then they have to sell

 

[Zippycup]

This shouldn't even make the top 100 reasons the ownership needs to change

You're wrong.
The words football club were taken out of the badge in 1998 to make the name more commercially viable.
To have thise words back in place would suggest that we are reverting back to old.

 

[TheReligion]

Is this guy actually loaded? Like money enough to have us spending like a rich club?

We are a rich club.

 

[Skills]

You're wrong.
The words football club were taken out of the badge in 1998 to make the name more commercially viable.
To have thise words back in place would suggest that we are reverting back to old.

How did the words FC help us in the 70s and 80s?

 

[Varun]

Is this guy actually loaded? Like money enough to have us spending like a rich club?

All he'd need to do is stop taking money out of the club.

 

[littlepeasoup]

I doubt very much he'll come in and start spunking money left and right. I suppose the hope is he is better able to channel the revenues the club generates without the paying of dividends and interest on loan repayments.

We are absolutely desperate for investment into infrastructure - Old Trafford, the training ground, so perhaps he'd channel some of his own money into those type of projects.

 

[tenpoless]

His estimated wealth is about twice that of Roman empire, but I don't see him going all sugar daddy on us

Fixed

 

[stevoc]

You're wrong.
The words football club were taken out of the badge in 1998 to make the name more commercially viable.
To have thise words back in place would suggest that we are reverting back to old.

The Glazers could put them back on there tomorrow and it wouldn't make a difference.

Yeah sure it'd be nice to have it back on there but it's fairly meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

 

[JJ12]

All he'd need to do is stop taking money out of the club.

Or as much as the Glazers - it has to be somewhat profitable to him I guess

 

[OverratedOpinion]

Is this guy actually loaded? Like money enough to have us spending like a rich club?

He is but it is doubtful he would put a load of his own money in.

All he needs to do is clear the debt as part of the sale and not take dividends and we could compete with anyone financially. I think the major hope is that he would give a shit enough to put the right people in place and demand results. That in addition with not having another billion spent on debt repayments would stand us in good stead.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

Or as much as the Glazers - it has to be somewhat profitable to him I guess

Why? Buying a football club is like buying a super yacht, Man Utd are a great status symbol to own because once you've brought us we are entirely self sustainable and will probably only go up in value.