Staff Reporter.
Manchester United have received a bid from Jim Ratcliffe’s company INEOS for the Premier League soccer club, the chemical firm confirmed in a statement on Saturday.
The Glazer family are considering selling the club and a ‘soft deadline’ of Friday had been set for proposals.
Ineos said it wants to make the club a “beacon for a modern, progressive, fan-centred approach to ownership”.
In a statement confirming its bid for the 20-time English champions, the company added: “We would see our role as the long-term custodians of Manchester United on behalf of the fans and the wider community.
“We are ambitious and highly competitive and would want to invest in Manchester United to make them the number one club in the world once again.”
It added: “We also recognise that football governance in this country is at a crossroads. We would want to help lead this next chapter, deepening the culture of English football by making the club a beacon for a modern, progressive, fan-centred approach to ownership.
“We want a Manchester United anchored in its proud history and roots in the North West of England, putting the Manchester back into Manchester United and clearly focusing on winning the Champions League.”
The Ineos group, owned by 70-year-old British billionaire Ratcliffe, has a history of investment in sport and owns French Ligue 1 club Nice and Swiss Super League club Lausanne.
Its sporting portfolio also includes high-profile sailing team Ineos Britannia, led by Sir Ben Ainslie, which is aiming to win the 2024 America’s Cup for Great Britain.
Ineos also has a five-year partnership with Formula 1 team Mercedes and took over British-based cycling team Ineos Grenadiers (formerly Team Sky) in 2019.
Ratcliffe made an unsuccessful late £4.25bn offer to buy Chelsea last year when Russian owner Roman Abramovich put the London club up for sale.