Abram Glazer, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Alex Ferguson. (Image: Getty Images)
Former Everton, Aston Villa and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness believes the Glazers are in talks to secure fresh investment at Old Trafford. The 68-year-old has suggested Sir Jim Ratcliffe may have limited influence over United’s potential takeover talks, insisting the extra money would support ambitious stadium plans.
Last year, United announced plans for a new 100,000-capacity stadium, marking a departure from their historic Old Trafford home. The proposed project is expected to create 92,000 jobs, more than 17,000 new homes and attract an additional 1.8 million tourists each year.
Speaking at the announcement, Manchester United co-owner Ratcliffe expressed his excitement: “Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to complete what will be the world’s best football stadium in the heart of a regenerated Old Trafford. Our current stadium has served us brilliantly over the past 115 years, but it falls short of the best arenas in world sport.”
“Building next to our existing site allows us to preserve the essence of Old Trafford while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that will transform the fan experience just a stone’s throw from our historic home.
“Equally important is the opportunity for the new stadium to be a catalyst for the social and economic regeneration of the Old Trafford area, creating jobs and investment not only during the construction phase but also on an ongoing basis after the stadium precinct is completed.
“The Government has made infrastructure investment, particularly in the North of England, a strategic priority and we are proud to support that mission with this project of national and local importance.”
However, Wyness, who was Aston Villa’s chief executive from 2016 to 2018, believes the club will need extra money to fund such ambitious plans and believes the Glazer family will need to attract new minority investment or free up funds from the club altogether.
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Joel and Abram Glazer have a decision to make. (Image: Getty Images)
“There’s definitely discussions going on and the key right now is the Glazers and whether the Glazers bring in another partner or sell at some position and I don’t think Ratcliffe has much of a choice in that,” Wyness said on Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast.
“The big impact of the problems that INEOS has caused for himself is just look at the mountain of debt that still stands in his own company, which means that he will not be able to raise funds through INEOS or give proper guarantees for things like perhaps the stadium, which is a long-term, large-scale project that all the fans have been told to buy into.”
“This has been a highlight of INEOS’ entire tenure, if you will, and they wanted to show that we are moving forward and that a great new Old Trafford project will be born with the circus tent. And while that was impressive, I’m now wondering how they could raise money in the same way without bringing in external funding in a more expensive way. That would put more pressure on them.”
The Telegraph reported last year that Mr Ratcliffe’s company INEOS had an estimated debt of £18bn, leading to speculation that Mr Ratcliffe may need to step down from his role at United.
The club itself is also heavily in debt under the Glazer family’s rule. There was talk of selling the club to Qatari billionaire Sheikh Jassim in 2023, but a minority stake was sold to Ratcliffe instead.
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