Manchester United was not the first Premier League club that Sir Jim Ratcliffe tried to take charge of.
It has been 18 months since Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed his £1.25bn takeover of Manchester United, buying a 25 percent stake from the Glazer family.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe assumed sporting control at Old Trafford but the results that have followed have been extremely underwhelming.
But things were almost very different as before buying a minority stake in United, Ratcliffe attempted to buy Chelsea after Roman Abramovich was sanctioned and forced to sell.
Eventually, Chelsea was sold to Todd Boehly for a £4.25bn fee, with the American beating Ratcliffe to the deal. It seems Ratcliffe was not a popular figure during that takeover saga either.
Photo by Michael Regan - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Photo by Michael Regan – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘angered’ Chelsea takeover bidders
Ratcliffe turned to United after his Chelsea bid failed, and he eventually beat the rival bid from Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim to strike a deal with the Glazers.
But he came very close to buying Chelsea and the Daily Mail have now relayed fresh details from the behind-the-scenes of the takeover process.
Using information from the newly published book Sanctioned: The Inside Story of the Sale of Chelsea FC, it is explained that Ratcliffe “angered” other bidders because of his British-focused angle to his bid.
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It is claimed Ratcliffe tapped his chest repeatedly in a meeting with Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck, telling him he had a piece of paper in his pocket with an offer for the club written on it.
Ratcliffe boasted that his bid was “made up entirely of British money” which aligns with Ineos’ statement about their bid which read: “This is a British bid, for a British club.”
However, Ratcliffe’s formal £4.25bn bid was too late as Boehly had already been informed he won the takeover race.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s reputation has taken a hit at Man United
During the Manchester United takeover race, many fans wanted Ratcliffe to beat Qatar and take charge of the club, with Sheikh Jassim’s offer posing plenty of ethical concerns.
However, fast-forward to 2025 and United fans have protested against Ratcliffe following a string of controversial decisions made by the co-owner.
Ratcliffe has raised ticket prices at United and led a huge cost-cutting push that has seen over 450 redundancies in the last 18 months.
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While fans have appreciated Ratcliffe’s communication as co-owner after years of silence from the Glazers, his ownership so far has been extremely controversial.
Ratcliffe’s personal wealth has plummeted since the takeover and the terrible results from the 2024/25 season have led fans to question the club’s future under Ineos.