Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has sung the praises of INEOS founder and chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is expected to become a 25 per cent shareholder in footballing giants Manchester United.
Ratcliffe is, of course, a one-third shareholder of the Mercedes F1 outfit through INEOS, with him also owning French football team Nice and Swiss club Lausanne-Sport.
As well as this, Ratcliffe is owns various teams in sailing, rugby and cycling.
Manchester Utd, though, is Ratcliffe’s boyhood club, with him expected to purchase a 25 per cent stake in the club for a whopping £1.4 billion.
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This will be paid to current owners the Glazer family, in a process which got underway almost 12 months ago in November last year.
Ratcliffe had been competing with Qatari royal Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, before the latter withdrew from the process.
According to the Daily Mail, Ratcliffe will take responsibility of football matters at the club, although there is a chance that his deal might not go through before the upcoming January transfer window.
Lawyers have warned that a final agreement could take ‘weeks’ to settle, meaning that the £1.4 billion investment could be delayed.
Regardless of when Ratcliffe becomes a 25 per cent shareholder, Wolff has revealed ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix that the 71-year-old is brilliant to work with.
Wolff also stressed that he can be “very creative” and “has the resources” the club needs to progress.
“Jim and his partners, they are first of all complementary,” Wolff said during the pre-weekend press conference.
“They are huge in terms of profit and decisions being made very quickly, three bullet points on a page and here we go.
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“With Jim, all the bulls*** is cut out and I think that wherever he gets his power and resource and character behind it I think that’s going to be an add on for any team.”
Wolff continued: “He’s a Manchester boy. He has the resources that are needed, the heart in the right place for this team and I’m sure that he can be very creative for Manchester United.
“With us he’s been a fantastic shareholder and a good sounding board for myself.”