Beating Qatari billionaire Sheikh Jassim to the punch, INEOS’ Sir Jim Ratcliffe has won the bidding war for Manchester United. Of course, unlike Jassim, Ratcliffe never wanted complete control of the club. He made a move for 25% of the club, which he has succeeded in acquiring for £1.25 billion ($1.58 billion).
According to numerous reports, Ratcliffe could finalize his purchase by the end of 2023, after which he will assume control of all the sporting matters. Manchester United icon Paul Scholes, however, is not confident that Ratcliffe will get complete autonomy after owning just 25% of the club.
Scholes Not Sure Glazers Will Give Ratcliffe Enough Power To Make An Impact At Manchester United
The former England international feels the Glazers would still like to come to the “top table” and give their input. In an interview in November, Scholes said (via the Mirror):
“I just find it difficult to believe that he’s going to be left to his own devices only owning 25 percent of the football club. How are the Glazers not going to want a say at the top table when it comes to football decisions?
“Obviously you can draw up contracts, of course you can, but if stuff is then happening that they don’t like, you’re telling me they’re not going to come to the table and have something to say about it? I’m sure they will. I just find it bizarre. It’s obviously a stepping stone to him [Ratcliffe] taking over the club permanently, but how long that is going to be we don’t know. And how much time has he got to try and get things right?”
Gary Lineker Feels It Will Take Ratcliffe A While To Turn Manchester United’s Fortunes Around
While Scholes is wary that Ratcliffe might not get complete autonomy at Manchester United, Lineker believes it will take the British billionaire quite a while to solve the problems currently plaguing the Red Devils.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, the Englishman said:
“Ratcliffe is supposedly coming in, it’s supposed to be quite imminent and Brailsford is supposed to be coming in, but it’s hard to envisage it changing it that much, really.
“If you look at them now, how many players do they need to change things? Half the team? That takes time, that takes money and it takes good recruitment, which is the same with any club, whatever your budget is. Their [spending power] has been pretty big, but it just shows you how big recruitment is and getting it right.”
Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United have been all over the place this season. They have been knocked out of the Carabao Cup and the UEFA Champions League and sit in seventh place in the Premier League standings.
