Sir Jim Ratcliffe has spoken out for the first time since his deal to purchase a minority stake in Manchester United was confirmed on Tuesday night. After a lengthy process that began 455 days ago with the Glazers' announcement of a structural review, the Brit has bought a 27.7 per cent in the club and will oversee the sporting side of the Red Devils.
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The 71-year-old billionaire has outlined his big plans for the club moving forward, which is set to begin with an overhaul of the behind-the-scenes staff and potential proposals to revamp Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe has promised "world-class" facilities for fans, perhaps nodding to the idea that the stadium needs redeveloping while stating his desire to return United to Europe's pinnacle in a statement released on Tuesday evening.
Ratcliffe said: “To become co-owner of Manchester United is a great honour and comes with great responsibility. This marks the completion of the transaction, but just the beginning of our journey to take Manchester United back to the top of English, European and world football, with world-class facilities for our fans. Work to achieve those objectives will accelerate from today.”
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Joel Glazer, executive co-chairman, added: “I would like to welcome Sir Jim as co-owner and look forward to working closely with him and INEOS Sport to deliver a bright future for Manchester United.”
INEOS will take charge of football operations after it was already announced on Christmas Eve that Ratcliffe had agreed a deal to buy a stake in United and invest a further £238million into their infrastructure.
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Ratcliffe and co have already moved to poach Omar Berrada from Manchester City as their new CEO, while Newcastle have placed their sporting director Dan Ashword on gardening leave amid interest from United.
INEOS sporting director Sir David Brailsford has been in regular attendance at United in recent weeks as he continues to assess the current setup.
A 'Wembley of the north' was also reportedly proposed after plans revealed that Ratcliffe had no qualms with knocking Old Trafford down and rebuilding it from scratch to create a stadium on par with their rivals, an idea reiterated in the new minority owner's first statement.
