Sir Jim Ratcliffe prepared to invest $300m for Manchester United infrastructure upgrades

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is prepared to commit $300million (£245m) of his personal wealth for infrastructure upgrades at Manchester United.

INEOS, the petrochemicals company owned by Ratcliffe, is set to purchase a 25 per cent stake in United from the Glazer family.

Ratcliffe’s $300m investment would come out of his own pocket and would not add to United’s existing debt, which stands at $650m. It has not yet been officially agreed or signed but the cash injection is expected to happen.

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It would also be only an initial investment — insufficient to completely fix the notable problems at Old Trafford, the club’s 74,000-seater stadium, and at Carrington, their training complex — with significantly more investment required in the future.

INEOS has experience with big infrastructure projects, with the company having just undertaken a five-year project to construct a chemical plant in Antwerp which involves “building and installing similar infrastructure that you would find in any small town or village”.

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The Glazer family put United on the market last November. The two bidders, Qatari royal Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe, the British billionaire, failed to meet the Glazers’ asking price of $8bn, with both parties instead valuing the club at closer to $6.3bn.

Sheikh Jassim withdrew his bid to buy United in October, leaving the bid from Ratcliffe’s INEOS as the only option on the table.

In return for that investment, Ratcliffe wants control over and responsibility for sporting decisions at Old Trafford. Essentially, he wants to reshape the football part of this football club in the INEOS image.

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(Photo: VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images)

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