A new takeover plan is believed to be on the horizon at Manchester United, with the Glazers potentially able to sell the club without the permission of minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Manchester United could be on the brink of an ownership change after reports emerged that minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe could be forced to relinquish his stake. The development follows revelations that a mechanism exists that could force Ineos’ billionaires to sell their United shares.
Mr Ratcliffe, 72, won a bidding war with Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani to invest in the Red Devils towards the end of 2023. Sheikh Jassim tried to buy the Glazer family’s entire stake in the club for £5.5 billion, but Ratcliffe won with a 27.7% stake for around £1.3 billion.
The British chemicals tycoon then increased his share to 28.9% following a £79.2m cash injection in December 2024. Nevertheless, the club’s assets remain unchanged, despite Ineos taking over management of day-to-day operations at Old Trafford.
But a “drag-along clause” that came into effect over the summer could see Ratcliffe and his colleagues removed. A drag-along clause refers to a clause in a company’s shareholder agreement that allows the majority shareholder to “drag” the minority shareholder to sell their shares if the majority shareholder chooses to sell.
This condition ensures that the Glazer family has the power to compel all shareholders to dispose of their shares. Mr. Ratcliffe’s deal provided that Mr. Ratcliffe would have a first refusal to sell if the Glazer family chose to sell within the first 18 months after the minority purchase was completed, but that provision expired in August 2025.
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This means the Florida-based Glazers could force a complete sale of the club if they decide to sell. And given Mr Ratcliffe’s investment size in 2023, it is likely he will need an offer of more than £5bn to induce a sale.
Saudi Arabia’s sports chief Turki al-Sheikh shocked the football world this week with a post on X: “The best news I’ve heard today is that Manchester United are now in the advanced stages of completing a sale to a new investor.”
In response to his own message, he continued: “I hope he’s better than the previous owner.” However, the exact details remain shrouded in mystery, leaving many scratching their heads following the surprise announcement.
A United source told the Manchester Evening News that club officials were caught off guard by Al Sheikh’s claims that a new takeover scheme was being orchestrated. Despite previous involvement, Sheikh Jassim is not believed to have rekindled his desire to sign the club.
Previous efforts were rejected because he was unable to demonstrate sufficient financial backing during negotiations. Al-Sheikh has emerged as a pivotal player in placing Saudi Arabia at the center of its recent sporting revolution.
The country has put its vast wealth into revitalizing various sporting disciplines, including boxing, snooker and, more recently, darts. The head of the Islamic Solidarity and Sports Federation (ISSF) later clarified that he was “not an investor” and that the person in question was not Saudi, adding that the deal “won’t necessarily happen.”
talkSPORT and the Daily Mail reported on Thursday that the bid could come from an investor in the United Arab Emirates. The Glazer family took over United more than 20 years ago with a total investment of £790m, but have been widely criticized by the club’s fan base in recent years.
Mr Ratcliffe spent a significant amount of money to acquire just over a quarter of the club’s shares and could already be facing the ax in less than two years. Sir Jim has invested more than £200m of his own money into the club and has indicated his intention to return United to their former glory over the next few years.
Former bidder Thomas Ziliakas, who rivaled Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim’s bid to buy United in 2023, admitted on Friday that he remains interested in investing in the club if the opportunity arises and is currently drawing up his own plans to do so. The Finnish entrepreneur also offered to partner with Ineos or any party interested in acquiring the club.
“In fact, I have no problem working with someone like Jim Ratcliffe or an investor, whoever it is,” he said. “Because I’m not in this business to win trophies that I can brag about to other people.
“I’m working on this to make the club I’ve been a fan of since I was 12 the best club in the world. Looking at today’s situation, my heart wants to scream. “Manchester United is far below what a club should be and what it could be if things were run right.
“When I made my bid, I realized that the Glazers were playing a game with Jim Ratcliffe, Sheikh Jassim, and myself just trying to outbid each other, so the price just kept getting higher and higher.
“I said publicly that this is madness and that this is money that should be spent on the club, not making the Glazer family even richer. So I said, ‘Why don’t we join forces and take over the club together?’
“I’m still completely open to that and would be happy to talk to Sheikh Jassim, Jim Ratcliffe and other investors about how we can work together.”
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