United back onto the market

Manchester United are “back onto the market” and the respective stances of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari royal Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani have emerged.

United back onto the market

Mike Keegan of the Daily Mail points out that last Wednesday, United quietly crept “back onto the market” due to a clause that was agreed between the Glazers and Sir Jim Ratcliffe when the latter officially became co-owner in February 2024.

The clause, referred to as the “drag-along right”, was put in place to ensure that minority owners do not block arrangements that the majority favour. In United’s case, it means that Ratcliffe can no longer stand in the Glazers’ way if they want to sell the club.

This contractual provision was set to kick in 18 months after Ratcliffe completed his partial investment in United. It outlines that the Glazers can not only sell their stake in the Red Devils, but also force the INEOS billionaire to do the same. According to Keegan, Ratcliffe is fully aware that this clause is in effect but there has been nothing to suggest that the Glazers will exercise it.

The drag-along right assures Ratcliffe the best price given to shareholders of his share class. A sale within three years would trigger a minimum price of $33 per share, equal to Ratcliffe’s outlay 18 months ago.

It’s understood that Ratcliffe and the Glazers enjoy an amicable relationship.

A source told the Daily Mail, “They absolutely get on. So much so that Jim has flown over to the US on multiple occasions to have board meetings on their doorstep. They are like-minded people.”

“Ineos have come in, recognised that the business was bloated and have carried out the necessary measures to make it something approaching lean. They have also taken all the flak for that and for the first time in a long time, someone other than the Glazers has been taking the hits from the fanbase.”

“That hasn’t gone unnoticed. To add to that, they have taken control of all football operations and are effectively running that side of the business, so that eases another headache. Then there’s the new stadium, which Ineos is attempting to find the funding for.”

“They have attracted the big-hitters to the project, such as Lord Coe, they appear to have political backing locally and they are getting on with it.”

The insider added, “Then there’s also the investment, which came as part of the deal. Sir Jim has put in $300m of his own money, which has paid for the £50m upgrade to Carrington. It has been a very long time since someone has put some money into Manchester United rather than take it out. To put it simply, if you’re the Glazers, what is not to like?”

Qatar and Sheikh Jassim’s position on trying to buy United again

With United possibly up for sale again, there are questions regarding whether Sheikh Jassim will launch another attempt to complete a full takeover of the club.

Sheikh Jassim rivalled Ratcliffe during the takeover process but eventually lost out to the British businessman, whose minority bid valued United slightly higher.

On whether Sheikh Jassim could throw his hat back in the ring, Keegan explains that the Qatari banker has “zero interest” in a second bite of the apple, with his focus currently on other “mega projects.”

A source divulged to the newspaper, “Things have changed and the project would be seen as even more difficult now for a few reasons, not least because there’s a belief the standard of the Premier League has improved and it would be more difficult to turn things around.”

“There’s other priorities now. The Qatar universe is doing well, they are on with different projects.”

INEOS have no desire to exit United

Despite the rocky start to life at Old Trafford, it’s said that Ratcliffe and INEOS have no intention of leaving.

They have “zero appetite” to sell and remain fully focused on restoring United to their past glories as quickly as possible. Ratcliffe is of the opinion that the hard part is already over and it may not be long until United start to reap the benefits of the tough measures put in place.

Featured image by Justin Setterfield via Getty Images

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