Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the English billionaire, is currently the number one candidate to buy Manchester United and end the Glazers era at Old Trafford. The 70-year-old businessman, who owns the highly successful INEOS chemical company, officially confirmed his intention to take control of one of the biggest clubs in the world. His spokesman made the announcement that excited United’s fanbase.”We have formally put ourselves into the process.”##NAJAVA_MECA_6954606##Ratcliffe was born in Failsworth, five kilometres from the Manchester City Centre, and is a boyhood United fan. He currently owns French Ligue 1 side Nice and the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team. But despite growing up as a United fan, he started following Chelsea when he moved to London many years ago. He was a season ticket holder at Stamford Bridge and made an unsuccessful bid to buy the club from Roman Abramovich last year. Perhaps Manchester United is his destiny.##EDITORS_CHOICE##When The Times previously posed the question of whether this would be something that Ratcliffe would be interested in back in August, the same spokesman said yes.”If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer. 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.”There are not many people who could afford to buy United – the biggest club in the Premier League and one of the biggest in the world – but Ratcliffe is one of them. According to Forbes, as of 2022, Ratcliffe has an estimated net worth of $16.3 billion. The biggest stumbling block at present is the Glazers and whether they would actually be open to selling up. Financial sources, though, believe the American family will have to eventually bring in an investor or sell to improve the club’s cash flow.Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company INEOS has officially entered the bidding to buy Manchester United. 🔴 pic.twitter.com/gV8PJbkXHm— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 17, 2023 Club’s fine results in recent months have got a good feeling among the Red Devils faithful. But they’ve been there before. A couple of poor results or a failed transfer window and all doom, gloom and rage towards the American owners will resurface again.The fans hope Sir Jim is the knight to save their beloved club.
