Sir Jim Ratcliffe to become minority shareholder in Manchester United?

With the long soap opera around the takeover of the legendary British club still ongoing, a plot twist could be on the cards.

According to SkySports, the Ineos boss and owner of OGC Nice is now considering buying a minority stake in Manchester United, after months of negotiations over the purchase of the Red Devils in competition with the chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Sheikh Jassim Ben Hamad al-Thani.

A new offer of €1.7 billion for a 25% stake

After ten months of negotiations, Jim Ratcliffe has now offered to buy only 25% of the club’s shares from the Glazer family, the equivalent of £1.5 billion (€1.7 billion). This would allow the Glazers to retain control of the club they bought in 2005.

Until now, the British billionaire had wanted to buy out the American family, which owns a total of 69% of the club, with a record bid estimated at €6.5 billion.