Sir Jim Ratcliffe is considering ditching his bid to takeover Manchester United in favour of buying a minority stake – which would leave the Glazer family in control of the club.
In a shock move that would no doubt trigger outrage among many of United’s supporters, the petrochemicals billionaire is mulling over a change of tack in an attempt to break the deadlock in what has been a tedious process which is now approaching its tenth month.
A spokesperson for Ratcliffe declined to comment, but it is understood that one of the options being looked at is the purchase of around 25 per cent of United’s shares.
That would likely bring in a figure close to £1.5bn for the Glazers, who paid £800m for the club in 2005 before plunging that debt onto United’s books.
While well short of a £6bn valuation, it could potentially provide much needed funds to revamp a decaying Old Trafford, although a rebuild would not be possible. It may also hand an injection of cash into a transfer kitty for manager Erik ten Hag although it would remain to be seen how such cash would be spent.
