Jim Ratcliffe will not pay “stupid price” for Manchester United

• Ratcliffe stated  will not pay “stupid” price for Manchester.
• Ratcliffe is one of two bidders who have publicly announced.
• Elliott Investment Management is also said to have advanced.

Prospective Manchester United owner Jim Ratcliffe has stated that he will not pay a “stupid” price for the Premier League giants, with more bidders expected to enter the race for Old Trafford.

The British billionaire is one of two bidders who have publicly announced their intentions to Raine, the merchant bank hired to assist the club in evaluating offers.

Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, a Qatari banker, is the other.

The Glazer family, United’s unpopular owners, announced in November that they were conducting a strategic review, with the sale of the club being one option under consideration.

The Americans are thought to be asking for $6 billion.

Ratcliffe, the chairman of INEOS, and his team met with the club on Friday during a visit to Old Trafford and the Carrington training complex, a day after Sheikh Jassim’s representatives visited United.

However, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Ratcliffe, 70, stated that he would not pay over the odds for the 20-time English champions.

“How do you decide the price of a painting?” he said. “How do you decide the price of a house? It´s not related to how much it cost to build or how much it cost to paint.

“What you don´t want to do is pay stupid prices for things because then you regret it subsequently.”

Ratcliffe, who already owns Nice in France, stated that his interest in United would be “purely in winning things,” referring to the club as a “community asset” rather than a financial one.

Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe were said to be preparing second bids ahead of a Wednesday deadline for second offers, with a number of other parties expected to join the bidding.

Elliott Investment Management is also said to have advanced to the next stage of the process, though the firm is thought to be offering funding rather than a takeover.

Due to the team’s declining fortunes on the field in recent years, the Glazers, who completed a leveraged takeover of the club in 2005, have proven deeply unpopular with supporters.

Their purchase of United also saddled the club with massive debts, and they have long been accused of taking more money out than they have invested in transfer funds.

The Glazers infuriated United fans even further by supporting the failed European Super League project in April 2021, which would have resulted in the club joining a breakaway competition.

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