The announcement that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made a formal expression of interest in purchasing Manchester United from the Glazer family marks a potentially significant moment for the club and its future. In addition to this, it takes place at a time when the team’s manager, Erik ten Hag, and his players have demonstrated a significant increase in their performance out on the field.

Naturally, the most significant change that United supporters want to see take place in the boardroom is independent of whatever takes on during the three quarters of an hour on a Saturday afternoon or whenever their matches are played. To put everything into perspective, is it even remotely possible that the long-awaited purchase or brand-new investment may, at the very least, be finally on the horizon?

United were purchased by the Glazer family in 2005; according to a piece that was published in the Manchester Evening News in November, the Americans are reportedly ready to hear offers for their full ownership in the club, which they currently hold. As a consequence of this, Sir Jim, who has been a fan of Manchester United for his whole life, has decided to take an official interest in the club. However, the question of why the founder of INEOS wants to become engaged at Old Trafford continues to be unanswered.

During the summer, when INEOS and Sir Jim stated that they had made an approach to purchase Chelsea, it prompted a lot of people to raise their eyebrows. However, that plan did not come to fruition since American businessman Todd Boehly replaced Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich as the management of Chelsea Football Team after Abramovich was forced to sell his part in the club. Boehly is from the United States of America.

In that very same moment, though, the elderly guy, who was then 70 years old and is now 71 years old, disclosed the impetus behind his choice to purchase a Premier League franchise. In an interview that took place in May of 2013, Sir Jim gave the following statement: “Our goals for Chelsea are quite lofty, and we come from a British ancestry. If I were Raine Group, a company that offers financial advice, I wouldn’t close any of the doors in the building.”

His involvement in that particular investigation did not get underway until the very last possible second. This time around, the British entrepreneur, who is believed to have a net worth of more than £11 billion, has placed his stall out early and has spoken to the Glazer family directly about a takeover even before they wanted out, but with United presumably in his sights. He has already made his intentions clear for this go-around.

This urgent matter was brought up to Sir Jim in October, when he was giving a presentation at an event that was organized by The Financial Times in connection with his company INEOS. As a topic of discussion, this critical problem was brought up to him. He said: “I have had the distinct honor of engaging in conversation with members of the Glazer family, who are the current owners of Manchester United. I had the pleasure of meeting Joel and Avram, and I have to say, they are two of the most pleasant people you could ever expect to meet; they are genuine gentlemen. I had the pleasure of meeting Joel and Avram, and I have to say, they are two of the most pleasant individuals you could ever hope to meet.

“Because of what occurred with Chelsea, it’s possible that we would have made an offer for it if it had been on the market during the summer, but we can’t just sit around and keep our fingers crossed that Manchester United will become available at some point in the future. We have better things to do with our time. We have an exciting sports franchise, but the one thing that we do not have is a club competing in the Premier League.”

The following are some of the statements that were made by Sir Jim, whose business holdings in the world of professional sports include a relationship with the Mercedes-AMG F1 team and an interest in the French Ligue 1 club OGC Nice: “Football is the sport that reigns supreme atop the popularity rankings on a global scale. Because soccer is the sport that we were exposed to throughout our childhood, it is also the one that is the most significant to us on a personal level.

It is strongly suggested that the sporting franchise purchase an asset [from the Premier League]. [Citation needed]

According to the Press Association, Ineos is also interested in expanding its sporting portfolio, which currently consists of ownership of the Swiss team FC Lausanne-Sport and the French Ligue 1 side Nice, as well as sponsorship of the cycling team Ineos Grenadiers, which was formerly known as Team Sky. However, Ineos is interested in expanding its portfolio to include additional sporting organizations.