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

Champ

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if all his done is taken Nice to upper mid table, in one of the lowest spending leagues in Europe. It’s not really a good sign.
He's been owner of Nice for three years, they are now at a consistent level, a lot of the work at Nice has been done with longevity in mind, with heavy restrictions as to what they can spend on players.

I'd say it's a good sign personally,

Nice were never likely to challenge PSG and had Galtier stayed I think they would have been in the top three.
 

devilish

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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.
He seems like a nice bloke. The sort of guys who first screw the country by backing Brexit and by polluting the areas his factories are and then he moves on to live in a tax free country.
 

tenpoless

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This is when you hope the Glazers do their due diligence on who they want to sell the club to. And not try and extract the most ---- Someone who promises them $ 10 billion but whose package is heavily reliant on debt or someone who is cash rich and is offering $8Billion for example.
Thats a bit hard to do I reckon. They want the most money and be done with the club.
 

Champ

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He seems like a nice bloke. The sort of guys who first screw the country by backing Brexit and by polluting the areas his factories are and then he moves on to live in a tax free country.
Firstly he is entitled to believe in Brexit, as messed up as that may be, it was a democratic vote.
Secondly, his factory's environmental record is awful, hopefully it gets highlighted more.

Thirdly Man Utd for a while were based in the Cayman Islands, not sure of the shell company still is or not, so tax free havens isn't exactly alien to this club.

So yeah, anything else?
 

devilish

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Firstly he is entitled to believe in Brexit, as messed up as that may be, it was a democratic vote.
Secondly, his factory's environmental record is awful, hopefully it gets highlighted more.

Thirdly Man Utd for a while were based in the Cayman Islands, not sure of the shell company still is or not, so tax free havens isn't exactly alien to this club.

So yeah, anything else?
He voted Brexit because new anti pollution laws would have hurt him. He has nothing against the EU. In fact he moved to Monaco. He also a United fan who also has a season ticket with Chelsea. Top bloke and a top red
 

Champ

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He voted Brexit because new anti pollution laws would have hurt him. He has nothing against the EU. In fact he moved to Monaco. He also a United fan who also has a season ticket with Chelsea. Top bloke and a top red
So we are on the look out for a Billionaire United fan who has never watched another team in his life, pays all of his taxes, has always used electric cars, is a vegan and never flies anywhere?

Slim pickings for that one I fear.

He voted Brexit because like everyone else who voted for it they believed they'd prosper, alas we know that only the rich prosper from these things anyhow.
Monaco isn't in the EU also.
 

devilish

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So we are on the look out for a Billionaire United fan who has never watched another team in his life, pays all of his taxes, has always used electric cars, is a vegan and never flies anywhere?

Slim pickings for that one I fear.

He voted Brexit because like everyone else who voted for it they believed they'd prosper, alas we know that only the rich prosper from these things anyhow.
Monaco isn't in the EU also.
My point is that if there's no decent rich guy out there to own us then we might as well go for someone who is filthy rich and can afford to take us to the next level and make us compete with the Dubai/Abu Dhabi guys. Ratcliffe looks to me more like the Nice/Lausanne-Sport version of the Glazers. But hey he can spot OT on a map.
 

AlPistacho

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He voted Brexit because new anti pollution laws would have hurt him. He has nothing against the EU. In fact he moved to Monaco. He also a United fan who also has a season ticket with Chelsea. Top bloke and a top red
The worse kind of Brexiter imo. I agree it was a democratic vote and I don’t judge those that voted leave negatively based on their vote or desire to leave.

But the people I judge, other than those with clear racist views, are the rich & powerful who used their influence and vote for something that they didn’t believe was in the best interest of the nation knowing that they as individuals would not be effected by it.
 

Adam-Utd

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All I want from an owner is somebody who can clear the debt, stop taking a huge dividend and let the club get on with it.
 

croadyman

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Seems that since other parties came to the table he is now suddenly seen as British Glazer which wasn't the case before
 

BarstoolProphet

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Doubt if Dubai has the financial bandwidth to do the deal. They still own their cousins, Abu Dhabi a lot from the last financial crisis when they almost went belly-up if not for the intervention of their cuz.
They don't have any of the oil&gas resources like their cousins -- relying on real estate, finance and their charms to survive.
You would think only oil cities have a chance of surviving. Dubai is a major tourism and financial hub.
 

croadyman

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Think he would be seen in a more favourable light by doubters IF things were going better for his current club. I will say that you shouldn't compare running Nice to Utd though as he will working with different level of finance here and player too.
 

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This guy was nice and gobby when United was unattainable. Now you can't get a word out of the cnut.
 

V.O.

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He voted Brexit because new anti pollution laws would have hurt him. He has nothing against the EU. In fact he moved to Monaco. He also a United fan who also has a season ticket with Chelsea. Top bloke and a top red
Not to mention him being fined for dumping caustic soda in the Manchester ship canal, no less.
 

croadyman

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This guy was nice and gobby when United was unattainable. Now you can't get a word out of the cnut.
He is intimidated by the competition so the romantics in our fanbase could be swallowing a very bitter pill with our ownership
 

Adam-Utd

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This guy was nice and gobby when United was unattainable. Now you can't get a word out of the cnut.
He's literally said he will bid. What more do you want? He'd look daft talking over and over then failing
 

Champ

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The worse kind of Brexiter imo. I agree it was a democratic vote and I don’t judge those that voted leave negatively based on their vote or desire to leave.

But the people I judge, other than those with clear racist views, are the rich & powerful who used their influence and vote for something that they didn’t believe was in the best interest of the nation knowing that they as individuals would not be effected by it.
I would imagine majority of people vote due to a personal feeling and not because of a wider thought process.
 

AlPistacho

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I would imagine majority of people vote due to a personal feeling and not because of a wider thought process.
Yes I agree that’s why I don’t really judge the majority. It’s the few who voted Brexit, due to whatever business interest/motive, while at the same time securing residency abroad to retain all the benefits of the EU or buying those £2m passports EU passports that I resent.
 

Champ

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My point is that if there's no decent rich guy out there to own us then we might as well go for someone who is filthy rich and can afford to take us to the next level and make us compete with the Dubai/Abu Dhabi guys. Ratcliffe looks to me more like the Nice/Lausanne-Sport version of the Glazers. But hey he can spot OT on a map.
He is nothing like the Glazers.

He has put money into Nice for sure, however he didn't have to improve the ground or facilities as they were pretty new anyhow.
But INEOS has for sure put a fair bit of their own cash into the club and have improved the youth structure and scouting networks, again something the Glazers haven't done til now.
 

Champ

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Yes I agree that’s why I don’t really judge the majority. It’s the few who voted Brexit, due to whatever business interest/motive, while at the same time securing residency abroad to retain all the benefits of the EU or buying those £2m passports EU passports that I resent.
Don't get me wrong, that boils my blood too, but alas that's the democratic principles we live by.
Also I'd wager that near enough every mega rich business persons outlook (not all but most) what's best for them and their prospects.
 

crossy1686

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All I want from an owner is somebody who can clear the debt, stop taking a huge dividend and let the club get on with it.
That’s the first part, they also have to be willing to be active in the running of the club by firing and hiring the best people to do that and not leaving total failures in a post because it’s easy to do so
 

croadyman

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That’s the first part, they also have to be willing to be active in the running of the club by firing and hiring the best people to do that and not leaving total failures in a post because it’s easy to do so
You see that's where the state owners excel
 

darioterios

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He is nothing like the Glazers.

He has put money into Nice for sure, however he didn't have to improve the ground or facilities as they were pretty new anyhow.
But INEOS has for sure put a fair bit of their own cash into the club and have improved the youth structure and scouting networks, again something the Glazers haven't done til now.
Shouldn't this be factored into the equation for us?
 

Champ

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Shouldn't this be factored into the equation for us?
I'd say it's irrelevant, he's willing to carry on putting money into Nice and structuring the football side.
Who ever buys knows they need to improve facilities including the ground.
The Glazers know that too, the process has started.
 

darioterios

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I'd say it's irrelevant, he's willing to carry on putting money into Nice and structuring the football side.
Who ever buys knows they need to improve facilities including the ground.
The Glazers know that too, the process has started.
Our needs are Nice times 20 or 30 though, especially with Newcastle on steroids, I am really worried.
 

Red the Bear

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I don't think he has the extra cash to spare.

Seems to be stingy as well but as long as he doesn't take away money from the club it shouldn't matter.
 

crossy1686

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He is nothing like the Glazers.

He has put money into Nice for sure, however he didn't have to improve the ground or facilities as they were pretty new anyhow.
But INEOS has for sure put a fair bit of their own cash into the club and have improved the youth structure and scouting networks, again something the Glazers haven't done til now.
Because Nice will mostly likely look to sell on young prospects and get big money for them, not because they want to break a monopoly on the league.
 

bond19821982

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All I want from an owner is somebody who can clear the debt, stop taking a huge dividend and let the club get on with it.
See that's the problem. No one except state owned firms are going to spend 4-6 billions from their personal account. Every prospective buyer (again unless owned by state) will need lending for which the collateral will be the club itself. The moment you are lending, the debt is back on and we will have huge amount to pay back every year.

Basically only one of the below options will work

Get ready to be owned by a state . Feck values .
Or
Be ready for the process of debt again ,probably by a Glazer mk 2. But we will still have the morale values.
 

devilish

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He is nothing like the Glazers.

He has put money into Nice for sure, however he didn't have to improve the ground or facilities as they were pretty new anyhow.
But INEOS has for sure put a fair bit of their own cash into the club and have improved the youth structure and scouting networks, again something the Glazers haven't done til now.
I don't recall the Glazers or one of its firms had released caustic soda into the Manchester ship canal though. That doesn't mean he's not a true red though. Ok he might be the kind who has a Chelsea season ticket, who tried to buy a rival club and who prefer to live in Monaco to avoid paying taxes in the UK. But a true red nevertheless.