'Big change at Man Utd with Ratcliffe' says Romano

Stuart Telford

• 29 Oct 2023 07:49 GMT
• 3 min read

Sir Jim Ratcliffe will have wide-ranging powers at Manchester United despite only buying 25 per cent of the club, according to transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano.

Ratcliffe if set to buy a 25 per cent stake in the Red Devils for £1.3 billion - valuing the cub at £5.2bn and leaving the Glazer family in majority control, at least on paper.

Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani had previously offered £5.5bn for 100 per cent of Man Utd, but the Glazers have decided to remain involved.

READ: Why Potter will be Ratcliffe’s first Man Utd manager

INEOS chief Ratcliffe, who also owns Ligue 1 side Nice and was once the UK's richest man, will have 'sporting control' at Old Trafford, and Romano has now clarified exactly what that means.

Wide-ranging powers for Sir Jim

"The only person to decide the sporting future of Manchester United is going to be Sir Jim Ratcliffe," he wrote in his CaughtOffside column. "That means he can decide on the manager, the board, the directors and all of the sporting activities.

"This is really important. The feeling at United is that there could be a big change in terms of the board and in terms of the operations at Manchester United. It means a new sporting director, so the whole transfer process could change at the club with people coming from Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS Group.

READ: Who is Paul Mitchell? A look at the sporting director linked to Man Utd

"There are many candidates for different positions, including the director of football, and although we heard Paul Mitchell's name mentioned, there are also others to consider. Manchester United will look at multiple options and a decision on any changes will be made internally once Sir Jim is at the club."

Manager Erik ten Hag has previously insisted that he expected little change at the club, but Ratcliffe has been tipped to move for former Chelsea and Brighton manager Graham Potter having failed to tempt him to Nice in recent months.