Manchester United owners the Glazers are set to sell a 25 per cent stake the club to Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s Ineos are set to clinch a 25 per cent stake in the club, The Mail report, with a board meeting set to ratify the agreement.
The report suggests this deal is with a view to buying out the Glazers totally later on. Manchester United fans will have to stay patient.
While it is not the full-scale takeover we wanted, it should be viewed as a step forward.
Reporter Mark Ogden told ESPN FC via YouTube that this should be viewed as the beginning of the end of the Glazer ownership.
He said: “The reality is a 25 per cent stake means the Glazers have 25 per cent less. I think it’s good news it’s the beginning of the end of the Glazers it means that at some point down the road, Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos will buy the club. That’s the deal. 25 per cent now and later down the line they will take ownership of the club.
“When that happens I don’t know but the good news for United fans is that from the moment Jim Ratcliffe and his company take that stake, the Glazers will no longer be the big say, big fish at the club. It will be run by people who at least have an idea how to run a sporting franchise.
“Expertise will come in along with financial injection. At the minute the Glazers have no expertise and no financial injection.”
Ogden added: “There is now a roadmap to the Glazers leaving. But it could be a long road.”
Manchester United supporters are a patient bunch. We have had to be. For 17 years there appeared absolutely no realistic prospect of the Glazers selling at all.
Yes in year 18, we had hopes that the Glazers would use this opportunity to sell up and leave for good, and it is disappointing not to have got there.
However, instead of the door they left ajar now closing, it appears it has been firmly wedged open by Ineos’ planned investment.
It might be another two to five years before the Glazers sell the rest of their stake to Ratcliffe, but there is a strong chance this will happen.
More patience will be required, while holding Ratcliffe accountable for ensuring his part in this new era is successful.
