Man United: Jim Ratcliffe confirms interest in buying the club

Ratcliffe has previously expressed his interest in Man United.

Britain's richest man Jim Ratcliffe has confirmed that he has officially entered himself in the running to purchase Manchester United. Those who are interested in buying United have had to register their interest with the merchant bank running the sale of the club. It is expected bids from the United States, the Middle East and Asia are also going to come in but Ratcliffe, who owns Ineos, is the first to publicly confirm his intentions. A spokesperson on behalf of him said: "We have formally put ourselves into the process," as per The Times. Ratcliffe tried to buy Chelsea last year but was unsuccessful after leaving it too late to register formal interest. The 70-year-old is a lifelong fan of Man United. Parties have to sign up to see confidential financial documents and commit to undertaking due diligence before a possible takeover. Formal bids are expected to start next month, with genuine potential that a sale could be complete by the end of the season. In order for any sale to go through the Glazers must be happy with the offer on the table, with reports suggesting that bids of £5bn may be enough to force a sale. If that figure is met, it would the largest sporting transaction in history. To put that into context, Chelsea were sold to Boehly and his group for half of that amount. The Glazers announced in November that they would be "commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives" to potentially bring an end to 18 years of controversial ownership. Options that were presented, and to be considered, included "new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company". While United are said to be considering minority stakes, it is believed that the Glazers would prefer a full sale and hope that the recent upturn in form on the pitch will allow them to drive their asking price up. Man United are fourth in the Premier League and could move to within a point of Manchester City with a win away at Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.

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