British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe confirmed his bid for "majority ownership" of Manchester United on Saturday - almost a year after he tried to buy Chelsea.
The Glazer family are looking to sell the Red Devils and a 'soft deadline' of Friday had been set for proposals, with Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, chairman of one of Qatar's biggest banks, also tabling a bid. The Glazers, who have been at the helm since 2005, announced their intention to sell up three months ago.
The race to become United's new owner is heating up with Ratcliffe keen to take over at Old Trafford. Ratcliffe's firm, Ineos, said it wants to make the club a "beacon for a modern, progressive, fan-centred approach to ownership" as they attempt to win the battle for full control of the club.
A statement read: "Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have submitted a bid for majority ownership of Manchester United Football Club. We would see our role as the long-term custodians of Manchester United on behalf of the fans and the wider community.
"We are ambitious and highly competitive and would want to invest in Manchester United to make them the number one club in the world once again... making the club a beacon for a modern, progressive, fan-centred approach to ownership.
"We want a Manchester United anchored in its proud history and roots in the North-West of England, putting the Manchester back into Manchester United and clearly focusing on winning the Champions League."
Should Sir Jim Ratcliffe take over at Manchester United? Let us know in the comments below!
However, it's been noted that Ratcliffe's statement isn't as detailed as the one he proposed when bidding for Chelsea last April. The 70-year-old put together a proposal to the Blues in 2022 as he tried to take over from Roman Abramovich following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Ratcliffe was one of a number of parties interested in Chelsea but he was eventually beaten by US tycoon Todd Boehly, who completed a £4.25billion takeover of the Blues last May. But the Manchester-born businessman tried his best to complete a takeover, having detailed a long statement.
In the press release, Ratcliffe outlined his intention to compete against the biggest clubs in the world and listed the names of those - something he did not do in his United proposal. He also added that they would invest in the academy system at Chelsea, and similarly, he did not include that in his Red Devils one.
"Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS, has made a formal bid for Chelsea FC, for £4.25bn," his statement read. "£2.5bn is committed to the Charitable Trust to support victims of the war, with £1.75bn committed to investment directly into the club over the next 10 years.
"This is a British bid for a British club. We believe that a club is bigger than its owners who are temporary custodians of a great tradition, with responsibility to the fans and the community. We will invest in Stamford Bridge to make it a world-class stadium, befitting of Chelsea FC.
"This will be organic and ongoing so that we will not move away from the home of Chelsea and risk losing the support of loyal fans. We will continue to invest in the team to ensure we have a first class squad of the world's greatest players, coaches and support staff, in the men's and women's games.
"And we hope to continue to invest in the academy to provide opportunity for talented youngsters to develop into first class players.
"We believe that London should have a club that reflects the stature of the city. One that is held in the same regard as Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich. We intend Chelsea to be that club.
"We are making this investment as fans of the beautiful game, not as a means to turn a profit. We do that with our core businesses. The club is rooted in its community and its fans. And it is our intention to invest in Chelsea FC for that reason. No further comment will be made from Sir Jim or INEOS during the bidding process."
One fan spotted the difference straight away and said: "INEOS Chelsea’s statement is considerably better than United’s, Ratcliffe isn’t serious about us (Man Utd) at all!!"
Another added: "Are we sure about Radcliffe for Man Utd!"
On his attraction to Chelsea, he said: 'I have a house in Chelsea, I've lived in Chelsea for many years, I've had a season ticket for many years, I have a business that's based in Chelsea.'"
