Sir Jim Ratcliffe has clarified that he is no longer interested in buying Manchester United after the Glazer family made it clear that the club is not for sale.
The Glazers came for huge criticism from fans following back-to-back defeats at the start of the season and this paved the way for a big spending spree before the summer transfer deadline.
Amidst this, Sir Jim had conveyed his desire to own a minority stake with the Mancunian giants such that he can take full control of the club in the long-term.
After nearly two months from his statement, he has now revealed that it does not make sense trying to buy United when the Glazers have no plans of selling.
Speaking exclusively to Financial Times, Sir Jim said that he can’t sit around waiting for United to become available and he already has an exciting project at Nice.
He said: “Manchester United is owned by the Glazer family, whom I have met. I’ve met Joel and Avram and they are the nicest people, I have to say, they are proper gentlemen.”
“They don’t want to sell it. It’s owned by the six children of the father and they don’t want to sell it. If it had have been for sale in the summer, yes, we would have probably had a go following on from the Chelsea thing, but we can’t sit around hoping that one day Manchester United will become available.
We have an exciting sporting franchise (OGC Nice in Ligue 1), but the one thing we don’t have is a premier team. The most popular sport in the world is football and it is the sport we were brought up with and it’s the one most close to us. We really should have an asset in the sporting franchise.”
Glazers unlikely to sell Manchester United anytime soon
The Glazer family have come for severe criticism from fans and former players. The poor handling of transfers and the lack of development of stadium facilities have been questioned.
Despite this, the owners have remained unperturbed by the situation. United obviously spent a record sum over the summer, but it was definitely influenced by a poor start to the campaign.
If United had began the season with victories in the bag, we may have not seen the same level of spending. It was probably a blessing in disguise that the club started the worst possible way.
With Erik ten Hag as manager, United are now going in the right direction. The Glazers must now ensure that they back the Dutchman fully in the transfer market and make the recommended signings.
Even if they do so, the criticism will continue to remain as they continue to take half-yearly dividends around £11 million that could be put into better use by utilising in the renovation of Old Trafford.
