'Man Utd not for sale' concedes Ratcliffe

FT Desk

Updated: 28 Nov 2022 12:07 GMT
3 min read

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been linked with a takeover bid for Manchester United, but the UK's second-richest man has admitted that the Red Devils simply aren't for sale.

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#GlazersOut is a hashtag that has lit up Twitter in recent weeks and months, with Gary Neville among the most critical of the 17-year Glazer era at Old Trafford.

Neville's frustration and that of other fans is understandable, with United - the most successful team in English domestic football history - not having won the Premier League since Sir Alex Ferguson's final season as manager in 2013.

Opposition fans enjoying Man Utd's current banter era:pic.twitter.com/afU1D3dE8b
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 18, 2022

Ratcliffe currently owns Ligue 1 outfit Nice through his company Ineos, and was reportedly ready to make a bid for United in August, but speaking on FT Live, he poured cold water on the idea.

"I met Joel and Avram [Glazer] they are really nice people, and they don't want to sell it," he said. "If it had been for sale we probably would have had a go. We can't sit around hoping United will become available."

Ratcliffe: 'Lifelong Man Utd fan'

"I am a lifelong Manchester United fan; I was there in '99 that remarkable match in Barcelona."

United completed a continental treble in 199 when Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer scored injury-time goals to snatch a 2-1 win for the Red Devils over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in Barcelona.

Solkjaer later returned as manager, and is one of eight coaches to have been given the role in the nine years since Ferguson retired; the Scot having been at the helm for 26.

Erik ten Hag is the latest to try his luck, and after a difficult start has lifted United up to fifth in the Premier League table, with five wins from the last six games.

That lone defeat was a bitter one, with Manchester City's 6-3 drubbing of United a microcosm of how far the clubs have traded places since Ferguson's heyday.