United Beyond Manchester

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 25% investment in Manchester United took another step forward today, as he gained the Premier League’s approval. The next step for Ratcliffe will be to get the FA’s approval which, at this point, is being considered a formality. United extended the deadline for the deal to Friday, adding 72 hours to the initial deadline of Tuesday night.

Ratcliffe’s investment will see him gain two seats on the board and will see him and Ineos take over the football operations at the club. He has already discussed interest in updating Old Trafford and investing in other club infrastructure. Unlike with the Glazers, his investments will not add to club debt as he is willing to personally finance them.

The CEO of Ineos will be looking to overhaul an underperforming squad in the summer window. There have already been links to young stars such as Michael Olise and Jeremie Frimpong. It will be interesting to see how the dynamic works between Ratcliffe and Ten Hag, as it seems both want to control transfers.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment comes after years of Manchester United fans protesting the reign of the Glazer family. The Glazer family, who also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, have been seen to take more than they give back to the club. Ratcliffe is a lifelong Manchester United fan who fans believe will bring real change to a club that, in recent years, has been mediocre at best. In December, Ratcliffe said this about his vision for the club,“You are ambitious for Manchester United and so are we. There are no guarantees in sport, and change can inevitably take time, but we are in it for the long term and together we want to help take Manchester United back to where the club belongs, at the very top of English, European, and world football.”

We can only hope that this vision comes to fruition in the coming years.