Ratcliffe could walk away from Man Utd takeover

Tom Hancock

• Updated: 21 Mar 2023 12:57 GMT
• 3 min read

Prospective new Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe will not pay a 'stupid price' to buy the club.

Ratcliffe, a lifelong Man Utd fan, must submit a second offer by Wednesday evening if he is to stay in the running to take over at Old Trafford.

That's after his initial bid – along with that of Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani – reportedly fell short of the Glazer family's apparent £6 billion valuation.

READ MORE: Man Utd to receive ‘up to eight’ takeover bids before Wednesday deadline

But even for multi-billionaire Ratcliffe – whose net worth is currently placed at £19bn by Forbes – it's not a case of money is no object.

The 70-year-old founder of petrochemicals giant INEOS has explained his position on the Man Utd takeover.

Ratcliffe doesn't want any regrets

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Ratcliffe said: "How do you decide the price of a painting? How do you decide the price of a house? It's not related to how much it cost to build or how much it cost to paint.

"What you don't want to do is pay stupid prices for things because then you regret it subsequently."