Sir Jim Ratcliffe has felt the wrath of furious Manchester United fans after offering Avram and Joel Glazer the chance to stay at Old Trafford as part of his revised takeover bid.
As the club are still up for sale after six months and no party has met the Glazers' £6billion asking price, a third round of bidding is currently ongoing, with a deadline of this Friday. Alongside Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, Ratcliffe has made two previous bids worth around £4.5bn and remains among the frontrunners through his petrochemical company, INEOS.
Now the Manchester-born mogul, 70, has received backlash from supporters after it was reported that he's offered to become United's majority shareholder, while also allowing Joel and Avram to stay involved through a stake of around 20 per cent. But fans may be less surprised to learn about his fresh proposal when they hear Ratcliffe's comments on the much-maligned brothers.
Even before the 70-year-old attempted to buy his boyhood team, he met with the American siblings and came away with an overwhelmingly positive impression on a personal level. "I've met Joel and Avram and they are the nicest people, I have to say, they are proper gentlemen," Ratcliffe declared at an event hosted by the Financial Times last October, a few months after INEOS failed in their pursuit of Premier League rivals Chelsea.
"If [United] had been for sale in the summer then, 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, but the one thing that we don't have is a Premier League team."
Most United fans wouldn't consider Joel and Avram "proper gentlemen" as a result of their 18 years of unpopular ownership, with more than £1bn believed to have been taken out of the club since they took full control in 2005. Supporters are demanding a full sale only and no further influence from the American family.
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The brothers, however, are reluctant to leave unless their £6bn price tag is met, so they could be sticking around for the foreseeable future. A recent report from ESPN stated that the Glazer duo were confident of securing outside investment, such as selling a minority stake in the club, and believe that they could double United's value over the next decade.
Earlier this month, Sky News claimed that US investor giant Carlyle is among a handful of parties which have pitched proposals to acquire a minority stake. Hedge fund Elliott Management are also reported elsewhere to have done the same.
Fan group The 1958 have confirmed plans for another anti-Glazer protest during Sunday's clash Aston Villa at Old Trafford. Supporters taking part are set to remain outside of the stadium until the 18th minute of the game, representing 'one minute for each year the Glazers have driven our club into the ground'. Upon their entry, anti-Glazer banners will be unfurled at each corner of the ground.
