2023-12-26 10:47:22
It took almost a year to go from a simple project to reality. This Sunday, December 24, as an early gift for Christmas, Manchester United announced to its fans that the long-awaited change would finally take place in the club’s organizational chart, since the English billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, owner of Ineos, acquired 25% of Reds Devils shares.
A takeover that comes as a breath of fresh air for a club and its numb fans in a difficult sporting situation. It now remains to be seen what the contours of this new project will be, of which Ineos will embody the sporting side but at the helm of which the Glazer family, owner of United since 2005, will remain.
What did Ineos really buy?
For a total sum estimated at 1.3 billion pounds, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company acquired 25% of the club’s shares, divided into two categories (class A, those which are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and class B, which give more voting power and which are 100% owned by the Glazers). At the purchase price of $33 per share, Ineos now owns 25% of the Class A shares and 25% of the Class B shares, or a quarter of the club’s total shares.
In addition to this plump deal, Ineos has committed to putting in an additional $300 million “to enable future investment in the club’s infrastructure at Old Trafford”. All this money ultimately gives Ineos an important place in the club since the company will now manage everything related to sports at Manchester United. “This will include all aspects of men’s, women’s and academy operations,” the club’s statement said.
What will happen now?
The first thing, once the Premier League (the English football league) has approved this operation, will be the arrival of two figures from Ineos on the club’s board of directors. These, according to several English media, should be the former general director of PSG Jean-Claude Blanc and the sports director of Ineos, Dave Brailsford, very involved recently in the OGC Nice project.
Ineos, Ratcliffe and his men will then have free rein to reorganize sportingly Manchester United, a club that has been adrift in recent years. The deal is not yet formally ratified. “This process is expected to last six to eight weeks and, during this period, INEOS will have no formal decision-making power,” writes the English media The Athleticthe winter transfer window (which begins on January 1) will perhaps not be impacted, but it is a safe bet that Ineos will be able to very quickly start working on that of summer 2024. They will, however, have, as soon as their role in the club is formalized, decision-making power over the future of Erik Ten Hag, the highly contested coach of Man United.
What should Jean-Claude Blanc do?
The name of the former Parisian leader has been linked to Manchester United since the first rumors of a takeover by Ineos. The one who, before having responsibilities at PSG, had been president of Juventus in particular (2009-2010) should at least join the board of the Mancunian club, as mentioned above. For the moment, the exact content of his prerogatives is not known.
“INEOS will soon begin work on the new board structure with Jean-Claude Blanc and Sir Dave Brailsford joining the club, as planned,” wrote Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano. More will follow with a new manager, a new transfer strategy, a different plan for 2024 – it will take a little time but changes are expected. »
What consequences for OGC Nice?
This takeover by Ineos of a structure as large as Manchester United could mean that OGC Nice will not be the main point of interest or investment for the “football” side of the company’s sports operations. Since their arrival in the capital of the Aiglons in 2019, Ineos has injected nearly 350 million euros in transfers into the club, but has been much more sober this summer – which has not really harmed the club, 2nd in Ligue 1 at the break.
The proliferation of large-scale projects has not (yet) harmed Ineos. Before Nice, the British company owned the Lausanne club, in Switzerland, but above all a cycling team (the Ineos Grenadiers) and shares in a Formula 1 team (Mercedes). Manchester United will definitely be the jewel in their collection, let’s see if they can maintain their attention on all fronts.
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