Less than 24-hours after Elon Musk trolled the internet by joking that he was going to by Manchester United, another potential buyer for the club has thrown their hat into the ring.
And apparently, this one is “serious” about it this time.
After a recent Bloomberg report suggested that Manchester United‘s current owners, The Glazer family, are willing to sell a minority stake in the club, and after South African-born business tycoon Musk, who is the CEO and owner of a handful of major companies like Tesla and SpaceX – and just so happens to be the richest man in the world, with a net worth of US$242 billion – took to Twitter this week to say that he wanted to get his hands on the club that was his “favourite as a kid”, another fan has come forward to say they’re also interested.
Failsworth-born billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is one of the richest men in Britain with a net worth of $7.18 billion (£5.96 billion), says he is “definitely a potential buyer” if the club is for sale.
The 69-year-old is not only the chairman and chief executive of chemical company, Ineos, but he also owns French Ligue 1 football team Nice, and Swiss club FC Lausanne-Sport, as well as Ineos Grenadiers cycling team, and an Ineos partnership with the Mercedes F1 team.
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Crucially, he’s also a massive Manchester United fan.
🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to buy a stake in Manchester United, with a view to taking full control if the Glazers welcome new investment https://t.co/HXl2dIt6YA
A spokesperson for Ineos told The Times that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the company would be interested in purchasing a smaller stake, with a view to eventually buying the club.
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“If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer,” the spokesperson said.
“If something like this was possible, we would be interested in talking with a view to long-term ownership.”
The spokesperson added that the company’s interest is “not about the money that has been spent or not spent”, explaining that Jim is “looking at what can be done now and, knowing how important the club is to the city, it feels like the time is right for a reset.”
According to Bloomberg, preliminary discussions have been held about bringing in a new investor at Manchester United after what has been a rocky relationship between fans and owners since the Glazers’ takeover back in 2005, and also after what has been a pretty painful start to the 2022/23 season for the club and new manager Erik ten Hag, with two defeats putting them at the bottom of the Premier League table.
The clubs has very-prominently been in decline since Sir Alex Ferguson retired as manager in 2013, and there have been multiple protests against the Glazers’ ownership in recent years – including one in May 2021 which caused a match against Liverpool to be postponed, and several over the club’s involvement in the proposed European Super League.
The club’s net debt had also grown 11% to about £496 million by the end of March.
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The Glazers have also been criticised for their handling of player transfers and contracts, as well as for not improving Old Trafford – which is the biggest club ground in the country with a capacity of around 74,000 fans.
Manchester United has declined to speak on rumours and speculation of potential new buyers.
Featured Image – INEOS (via YouTube)
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BBC is casting for next series of The Traitors and wants Mancs who are ‘good at lying’ to apply
Emily Sergeant
The BBC is currently casting for the next series of The Traitors, and is looking for some deceptive Mancs to take part.
The Traitors is pretty much a cultural phenomenon at this point, let’s be honest.
Producers describe it as a ‘game of trust and treachery’, and there’s always plenty of twists, turns, shocks, and surprises along the way – but do you reckon you’ve got what it takes to play? If so, the BBC is currently casting for the next series of the popular show, and is calling on people in Greater Manchester and across the UK to apply.
Applications are currently open to ‘fun, smart, and strategic players’ who are over 18 years of age and have the right to legally reside in the UK.
The first series of the smash-hit BBC reality competition show proved pretty popular when it premiered back in 2022, but the second series took things to a whole new level, and truly seemed to capture the attentions of the nation like no other – with millions of viewers tuning in to watch the three episodes each week.
Currently, you may be one of the millions watching The Celebrity Traitors, which airs each week on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
But in case you haven’t seen it, The Traitors is, put simply, a competition series that’s built on strategy, suspicion, and deception, where a team of players are tasked with competing in a series of missions – with the more missions they complete successfully, the bigger the prize pot gets.
However, hidden among the players are the ‘Traitors’, who meet in secret and decide who to eliminate from their fellow players known as the ‘Faithfuls’.
The aim for the ‘Traitors’ is to stay undetected until the end, while the aim for the ‘Faithfuls’ is to banish all of the Traitors before the game ends.
Up for it? You have until 31 May 2026 to get your applications in online here.
Featured Image – BBC / Studio Lambert Assossiates
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Tom Aspinall to undergo more eye tests after injury sees title defence fight end in no-contest
Danny Jones
Manc MMA fighter Tom Aspinall is said to need further eye tests after an injury saw his title defence against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 end in a no-contest.
The Atherton-born UFC star was set to face the Frenchman former Muay Thai pro, 35, in the first competitive match since being declared the undisputed heavyweight champion earlier this year.
Aspinall was handed the belt by default after fighting legend Jon Jones retired from the sport, only to seemingly put himself back in training and the testing pool not long after.
Ultimately, the local athlete was unable to fully demonstrate why he’s found himself top dog in the division after an eye-poke from Gane saw Tom unable to continue. Brace yourselves: it’s rather unpleasant to watch…
Unsurprisingly, UFC fans are still wrapped up in fierce debate online, with many arguing whether or not the fight should have been stopped despite Aspinall making it clear he could no longer see properly after the illegal move.
In fact, Aspinall’s father and trainer, Andy, told various media that Tom was still unable to see out of his right eye as an ambulance quickly took him to a nearby hospital following the abandoned bout at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Nevertheless, plenty are questioning the ins and outs of the moment, with some believing that Aspinall was supposedly looking for “a way out” after the early rounds against Gane, while plenty more are wondering whether the eye poke was even ‘accidental’.
The Wigan native gave fight fans plenty of grief back, though, expressing his shock at those up in the stands booing and asking what else they expected him to do.
It was in front of his opponent’s home crowd in Paris, in fairness, but he and his fans were left, nevertheless, disappointed by the reaction following what is an extremely serious injury.
You only have to hear Michael Bisping talk about losing his right eye to know how much it changed his life, and Aspinall actually referenced the fellow Northerner in the aftermath of the eye poke, stating, “I really respect what Bisping has done; he’s done more than I would.
“I wouldn’t carry on fighting with one eye. No chance.”
While doctors have so far assured that there should be no permanent ocular damage, both pain and precaution are inevitable; it will be some time before Aspinall gets back in the octagon, and who knows when we can expect a rematch against Ciryl Gane.
You can watch the highlights before it was called early HERE, and see the ‘Honey Badger’s reaction after the fact on this official Tom Apsinall YouTube down below.
Emily Sergeant -
18th August 2022 
