Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe invested in the club 18 months ago but may not be the one to decide when he departs Old Trafford due to a clause in his deal
Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Sir Jim Ratcliffe may not have a say in his future at the club(Image: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
Sir Jim Ratcliffe could find himself in a position where he needs to sell his stake in Manchester United and be able to do nothing about it. That is after a clause in the deal that saw him invest in the Red Devils became active little over a week ago.
The INEOS chief paid £1.3billion for 25 per cent of United in February 2024 and has since set about overhauling the setup. Ratcliffe has overseen redundancies, a change in the club's sporting hierarchy and attempted to set a platform for success even as the team finished 15th in the Premier League.
But as of August 13, a 'drag-along right' became active, per Mail+. And that means if the Glazers ever want to sell up at Old Trafford, that could see Ratcliffe join them with INEOS having little say in the matter.
Such clauses exist to enable a company to be sold, by preventing circumstances where a minority shareholder can block a deal, when the majority want it to pass. In this instance, the clause came into effect 18 months after Ratcliffe made his investment and ensured that the Glazers are somewhat in control of the billionaire's stake too.
It is something Ratcliffe is keenly aware of, and even appeared to allude to upon the announcement of his investment. "I don't think we're going to be taking the legal agreements out of the bottom drawer," he said.
"I just hope they gather dust and we never see them. Which it should be. It should be on the basis of a relationship."
For the moment, there appears to be little intention of cashing in on the club. The parties would seem to have a good relationship and there is said to be an acknowledgement from the majority owners that INEOS have carried out the dirty work in restructuring the club and taken some of the heat off of the Glazers, while also taking charge of footballing matters.
For his part, Ratcliffe has spoken highly of his partners. In March he said: "To be fair to the Glazers, they’re really good on the commercial side.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Avram Glazer
Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe appears to have a good working relationship with the Glazer family
"The people who advise me say the fans don’t want to hear it. So I’ve got to be cautious. I get a lot of criticism if I support the Glazers, but the fact is they’re really decent people.
"They’re East Coast, you know — that old East Coast America, they’re very polite, they’re very civilized, they’re the nicest people on the planet. I mean, there isn’t a bad bone in Joel Glazer’s body."
Instead he directed criticism at previous club chiefs, and said: "I wouldn’t have tolerated Ed Woodward, or Richard Arnold."
For now, it appears the most likely prospective buyer is not interested in taking advantage of the Glazer's clause coming into play. Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani attempted to buy the club before Ratcliffe's bid for a stake was successful.
Sheikh Jassim the 92 Foundation are said to have 'zero interest' in returning at the moment, despite being aware of the situation.
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