Ineos director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford has expressed the company’s eagerness to complete the takeover bid for Manchester United, led by fellow company chief, Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The lengthy saga of buying the Premier League giants has seen British tycoons Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari Sheikh Jassim emerge as the two front-runners. However, Brailsford confirms Ineos’s strong interest in getting the deal done.
Brailsford, who serves as the Ineos director of sport and is also involved with French club Nice, which is owned by Ineos, has addressed their keenness to support United in their quest to return to their past glories.
During an interview with ITV Sport at the 2023 Tour de France, Brailsford discussed Ineos’s interest in helping the Red Devils achieve success.
As stated by the Daily Mail, he said:
“Obviously we’ve been involved and it’s something that we’re very keen to do. It’s not something we can discuss in detail, we’ve got to sign up for NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) and all the rest of it.”
“But it’s an ongoing process and we’d very much like to do it. To be custodians of one of the biggest sporting teams, and brands, in the world and try to really support the team and go back to the success they deserve.”
“And also the fanbase. I’ve worked in Manchester for a long time, we saw the team become a global phenomenon, Team Sky have done the same. I know Manchester really well so you get a sense of what the club is all about and what the fans want. If we’re part of the process, we hope to do that.”
Less than a month remains until Erik ten Hag’s team kicks off their Premier League season with Wolverhampton Wanderers visiting Old Trafford.
However, amid the uncertainty, it is clear that the Glazer family will continue to control the club when the season starts on August 14.
The timeline for new owners to take over has passed, as the necessary Premier League checks would require more time, even if a buyer was announced immediately.
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Led by US merchant bank Raine, the process has been kept under wraps, but it is evident that the situation was not expected to unfold this way.
The Glazers, who have been disliked by a significant portion of the fanbase since their leveraged buyout in 2005, had effectively put the club up for sale in November of last year.
The original expectation was that a deal would have been completed by the end of the season, and new owners would have been able to influence the summer transfer window. However, this has not been the case until now.
