With Man United Not for Sale, Billionaire Looks for Other Teams

It’s looking more and more likely that Manchester United will remain under the Glazer family’s ownership.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe was reportedly interested in taking over the club, but after he met with the family, it appears that a takeover won’t be happening anytime soon.

“It is owned by the six children of the father, and they don’t want to sell it,” Ratcliffe said on Tuesday.

The late Malcolm Glazer bought his first shares in the club in 2003. Two years later, he took over nearly 100% of the team — ultimately spending more than $1.4 billion.

“If it had been for sale in the summer, yes, we would probably have had a go following on from the Chelsea thing, but we can’t sit around hoping that one day Manchester United will become available,” Ratcliffe said.

• Ratcliffe was also leading a group bidding for Chelsea FC.
• The team ended up going to Los Angeles Lakers, Sparks, and Dodgers owner Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital for $5.2 billion.

In May, Forbes valued Man United at $4.6 billion.

Soccer Solution

Even with Chelsea FC and Man United out of the question, Ratcliffe — who owns Ineos, the owner of Swiss club Lausanne and France’s Nice — isn’t giving up on finding another team.

“The most popular sport in the world is football, and it is the sport closest to us, so we should have an asset … not a Premiership (club), I think a premier club.”