Ratcliffe frustrated as Man Utd takeover hits hitch

Robin Bairner

22 Nov 2023 06:29 GMT
3 min read

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been left frustrated that Manchester United’s takeover has not been completed, with the incoming minority owner having expected the deal to be completed by now.

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The Telegraph reports that the billionaire, who will buyout 25% of the club from the Glazer brothers and will assume sporting control, had expected a deal to be announced over the course of the international break.

However, there is a very realistic prospect that nothing will be announced until after the Thanksgiving holiday, which begins on Thursday.

Ratcliffe believes this has the potential to derail Man Utd’s plans for the January transfer window, although numerous reports had suggested that these were likely to be modest given that the new team would still be getting their feet under the desks at Old Trafford.

© ProShots - Ratcliffe's takeover at Man Utd is a matter of time

January deals threatened

With each passing day, the prospect of United enjoying the transfer window they want in the forthcoming period gets slimmer. As such, these delays to the takeover process are frustrating the Ineos owner, who already oversees Ligue 1 side Nice and Lausanne Sport in Switzerland.

Crucially, it is pointed out that there will be a delay between the announcement of any deal and the Premier League ratifying it. This could take six to eight weeks, so any further delay to the announcement could mean that Ratcliffe is unable to take proper command of the Man Utd team until after the January transfer window has concluded.

He is expected to bring in his own staff, starting with a sporting director to head up the recruitment of new talent at the club. Several names have been touted for the job, but former Monaco man Paul Mitchell is expected to get the nod, with FootballTransfers understanding that Man Utd are keen on him and he is keen on a move to the club.

But the process cannot begin until Ratcliffe’s takeover of Man Utd is official, which is not yet the case.