There has been a major update on Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid to the Glazers for a minority stake in Manchester United instead of a complete takeover, with Sky News reporting that a key board member is to step down by the end of this year.
Takeover Latest: Board Shakeup as Ratcliffe Set to Acquire 25% Stake From Glazers
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Manchester United Set to Move Into a New Era
After years of fan protests, the Glazers announced in November 2022 that they were considering outright selling the club. Coincidently it was the same night that Cristiano Ronaldo had left Old Trafford and it seemed as though the Red Devils were ready to move into a new era on and off the pitch.
Despite years of underperforming and being knocked off their perch as a major trophy-winning juggernaut, Manchester United still has an extensive worldwide fanbase. It continues to compete with the top sides in European Football in terms of Revenue. They have been competitive in the transfer market spending large sums of money on players in the last ten years so it was assumed that there would be interested parties in buying the club, despite the scale of the deal required to purchase the club outright.
Chelsea had recently been purchased for £4.25 Billion and this was being used as a barometer of how much the Glazers may seek from interested takeover parties.
Long Bidding Process Coming to an End as CEO Set to Depart
After failing to present an offer to tempt the Glazers into accepting a full takeover of the club, and Sheikh Jassim withdrawing from the race after seeing multiple bids rejected, Jim Ratcliffe has finally agreed on a deal that will see him acquire a minority stake with a view to taking full control in the future.
CEO Richard Arnold, who initially joined the club in 2007, is set to step down at the end of the year as Ratcliffe’s stake is set to be finalised in the coming days. Sky News is reporting that:
‘The Old Trafford club will announce to the New York Stock Exchange later on Wednesday that Richard Arnold is to step down by the end of the year.’
‘He will hand over operational control of the club immediately and will be replaced as interim CEO by Patrick Stewart, who will also retain his role as general counsel.’
Investment in Infrastructure and Control of Football Operations
The same source indicates that there are reports that Ratcliffe will take ‘immediate control of football matters’ despite failing to reduce the Glazers’ control of the club with an outright takeover. However, the 71-year-old will invest an additional £245 million into the club to update and refurbish the outdated facilities at the club.
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This would address one of the many issues the club’s fanbase has with the current regime. The training ground and stadium are in major need of repair so there are some positives for fans to take despite having to endure another spell with the Glazers as the majority shareholders.
