Man Utd to make key change fans will HATE after Ratcliffe takeover

Tom Weber

20 Oct 2023 00:45 CDT
3 min read

Joel Glazer will continue to be heavily involved in the running of Manchester United even after Sir Jim Ratcliffe's minority investment.

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The INEOS billionaire has beaten competition from Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim to get the chance to become a minority owner of the Red Devils. The lengthy takeover saga has come to an end, but Man Utd fans will have their doubts over the end result.

The Glazers will remain firmly in control for now, although Ratcliffe does still have plans for an eventual full takeover that will see him buy out the American owners and potentially his fellow minority shareholders. That is something that will only transpire further down the line, however.

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While reports have indicated that Ratcliffe will be given the freedom to reshape the club's sporting leadership, fresh news indicates that this won't mean that the Glazers will be completely removed from the decision-making in that department.

Glazer part of committee

According to 90min, a three-man leadership committee will be formed once Ratcliffe's investment has been ratified. The INEOS chief will be joined by Sir Dave Brailsford and Joel Glazer on this committee, to which chief executive Richard Arnold and a new sporting director will report.

Brailsford has been INEOS' director of sport since 2021, being crucial in the running of Ratcliffe's Ligue 1 side OGC Nice. Joel Glazer, meanwhile, is of course one of the two unpopular co-chairmen alongside his brother Avram.

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Man Utd fans believe that, since the Glazers arrived in 2005, things have gone downhill for the club and massive debts have accrued. Many wanted the Americans to finally be ousted as part of the takeover battle, but they were reluctant to relinquish control of one of the world's most lucrative sporting brands.

The still-to-be-announced sporting director who will run the club's sporting business on behalf of this leadership committee is widely expected to be Paul Mitchell, formerly targeted by Chelsea, Liverpool and INEOS' Nice. Mitchell recently left Ligue 1 side Monaco and has already moved to Manchester.