Mercedes F1 Team part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is considering buying a share of bottom-placed Premier League side Manchester United, with the club’s current owners considering putting a minority stake up for sale.
Ratcliffe owns 33% of the Mercedes F1 team, as does current team principal Toto Wolff and Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler AG.
The INEOS CEO-billionaire has seemingly been looking for a football team to invest in, with the Brit having been part of a consortium which included Sir Lewis Hamilton, to buy Chelsea Football Club.
The consortium which was led by Sir Martin Broughton failed with their bid, after the club was purchased from Roman Abramovich by American businessman Todd Boehly.
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Ratcliffe does already own two football teams, French top-flight side Nice and Swiss team FC Lausanne-Sport.
Ratcliffe, who is Britain’s richest man, has been a fan of Manchester Utd since his boyhood and would be hoping that should he be successful in buying a small stake in the club, that it could go on to “long-term ownership”.
“If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer,” a spokesperson for Ratcliffe told The Times.
“If something like this was possible, we would be interested in talking with a view to long-term ownership.
“This is not about the money that has been spent or not spent. 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.”
American family the Glazers, who currently own the club, have faced ongoing calls and protests to sell the entirety of the club.
After the first two games of the new season, the club are bottom of the table and facing a turbulent future.
The Glazers have previously demanded £6 billion to sell the club, with the side nicknamed ‘The Red Devils’ currently facing gross debts of up to £600 million.
Should Ratcliffe be successful in purchasing a minority stake in the club, it’s fair to say that he would demand immediate changes.
The Mercedes part-owner spoke about what was going wrong at the club a few years ago, going as far as saying the side had “lost the plot”.
“They haven’t got the manager selection right, haven’t bought well,” Ratcliffe told the Times in 2019.
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“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.”