Happiness at Old Trafford, first changes to come with Ratcliffe's arrival

Manchester United confirmed on Sunday the sale of 25% of its shareholding to British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, owner of INEOS, the world's fourth largest chemical company. The Glazer family, who have owned the club since 2005, opened a partial or full sale process last year to receive new investment, and with Ratcliffe's arrival, they close this chapter, aimed at maintaining the club's financial success and resurrecting its sporting success, in decline since 2013, the year Alex Ferguson retired and the club won the last Premier League title.

As part of the deal, Ratcliffe will be left in charge of the club's sporting operations, as well as injecting £300m (330m euros) into United's coffers for investment in both transfers and redeveloping the Old Trafford stadium. "As part of the transaction, INEOS has agreed to the board's request to assume responsibility for the club's football operations. This will include all aspects of the men's and women's team and youth operations," United said in a statement.

Ratcliffe made the offer that most convinced the Glazers, after he also tried to buy the club outright for more than £5 billion, a figure also offered by Qatar, which, however, was unwilling to accept a simple stake in Manchester United. Although the Glazers' initial intention was to sell the club - which they bought in 2005 for £790 million - the offers fell short, valuing United at over £6 billion. The purchase will now have to go through a Premier League approval process that could take six to eight weeks.

The changes 

"We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS. As part of the strategic review we announced in November 2022, we committed to looking at a range of alternatives to help improve Manchester United, with a particular focus on the men's, women's and youth teams. Sir Jim and INEOS bring a wealth of commercial experience as well as financial commitment to the club," said Avram and Joel Glazer. "As a Manchester boy and lifelong fan of the club, I am delighted to see that we have been able to reach an agreement that gives us responsibility for United's operations," said Ratcliffe.