Thrill seeker, self-taught jack-of-all-trades but extremely cautious, the wealthy British businessman Jim Ratcliffe has launched an assault on Manchester United, his lifelong club, of which he wants to take control. through its Ineos group.
Ratcliffe, whose fortune is estimated at 12.5 billion pounds (14.1 billion euros) by Forbes magazine, launched in 1998 with “two high school friends” in the creation of Ineos, which has since become a petrochemical giant which he was able to raise the bar following the financial crisis of 2008.
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“I don’t like to take reckless risks“, explained Sunday to the Times the 70-year-old billionaire, the same day his company officially submitted its offer to take control of the Red Devils, which is also coveted by the president of the Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, and potentially Saudi and American investors. A roundregarding way of showing that the takeover of MU, which might come close to five billion euros, is similar, according to him, to a reasoned or even reasonable investment.
“For example, I will never jump out of a plane, because then your life depends on how someone else folded the parachute“, continued in this interview the native of Failsworth, in the suburbs of Manchester, to illustrate his point. “I am quite cautious, but you only live once and if you want more in life, you have to know how to impose personal challenges on yourself.” With ski expeditions to the two poles with his children, others sailing in the Arctic Ocean or even the ascent of the Matterhorn in the Alps, this captain of industry cultivates an adventurous profile.
Already very involved in the sport
In sport, the businessman is no stranger since he has owned one of the best cycling teams in the peloton since 2010, the former Sky team which has become Ineos Grenadiers, as well as two football clubs: Nice in Ligue 1, which he would have bought for 110 million euros in 2019, and FC Lausanne in Switzerland. Ineos is also present in Formula 1, in partnership with Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes team, and in sailing, in the America’s Cup.
But it’s Old Trafford, Manchester United’s famous stadium, which has always made his heart beat. He never hid it, any more than he never refrained from saying what he thought of the management of the current owners, the Glazer family, American investors who took over the club in 2005.
They threw the money out the window
“Manchester United have spent huge sums since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson (in 2013) and it was bad, to put it mildly. Wickedly bad to be honest“, he criticizes as of 2019 in The Times.
“They got the wrong coaches, they bought through and through. They threw the money away, on players like Fred for example“, he continues, targeting the Brazilian bought for some 50 million euros from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018 – a player who is now performing in Erik ten Hag’s team.
“As a business, Manchester United is in a tough spot. Ineos will never throw money away“says Ratcliffe, the son of a carpenter and an accountant.”We want Manchester United to anchor themselves in their glorious past and in their roots in the North West of England. We want to bring Manchester United back to Manchester“, moreover explained Ineos in the press release formalizing its takeover offer, the amount of which was not specified.
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