Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been told that Manchester United is “not for sale” following yet more talk of a prospective buyout.
The 69-year-old from Failsworth is one of the richest men in the UK and his name has regularly been floated around as one of the names who could potentially buy the Premier League club and global sporting brand.
The CEO of INEOS – a multinational chemicals company which replaced Team Sky cycling when he bought the franchise – went on to say: “I met Joel and Avram, and they are the nicest people.”
“They are proper gentlemen, and they don’t want to sell United. It is owned by the six children of the father and they don’t want to sell.”
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Quotes like this will surely frustrate United fans who have not only long hoped for a sale to materialise but also consider the Glazers the root of their team’s failings over the past decade.
🚨🔰 Here we go True Reds, PROOF THAT SIR JIM RATCLIFFE WANTS TO PURCHASE @ManUtd! BUT he says the Glazers do not want to sell the club! That’s why we have to Defund the Glazers, Boycott all MUFC’s sponsors & Protest to get the #GlazersOut in order to get #SirJimRatcliffeln 1/2 pic.twitter.com/6HnlPRmBbw
Ratcliffe was recently pictured with members of The 1958 supporters’ group who still believe him to be the frontrunner in the race to save the club from the so-called ‘Glazernomics‘ that have seen them deeper into debt and further down the table.
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One of the most vilified footballing administrations anywhere in the world, the Glazer family have been in charge at Man United since 2005 and fans have been protesting their ownership ever since.
The ‘Glazers Out‘ protests hit a fever pitch over the past year or so, with massive demonstrations before several games and fans even breaking onto the pitch back in May 2021.
Ratcliffe stated his intentions rather clearly to the outlet: “If it had been for sale in the summer, yes we would probably have had a go following on from the Chelsea thing.”
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The businessman also made a late bid to buy the west London club before it was acquired by American Todd Boehly, whose designs on the league as a whole have led to much debate.
The likes of United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and more are now at least partially owned by American investors and many are speculating as to the wider impact growing US investment could lead to.
Despite being in the conversation for several years, 2022 has been the closest he has ever come to a real bid after he was linked with the consortium headed up by Michael Knighton, a former United director whose infamous £20 million bid to buy the club back in 1989 went up in flames due to financing.
Knighton, who began preparing an approach back in August, admitted that he needed the funding of parties like Ratcliffe to make a genuine proposal possible. Even with his backing, it looks as though the Glazers aren’t even close to entertaining a deal.
Ranked 27th on the Sunday Times Rich List, the entrepreneur is one of the few candidates with the kind of money capable of purchasing the mega club from its American owners, but it looks like Reds will have to keep waiting for a breakthrough.
Featured Image — Wikimedia Commons
Sport
Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
Manchester City plotting spending spree ‘before’ Club World Cup
Danny Jones
Manchester City are set to embark on somewhat of a spending spree this summer transfer window as the club’s higher-ups are looking to get business done before the 2025 Club World Cup.
With FIFA’s intercontinental club competition set to get underway in mid-June, the Blues don’t have too long to welcome in new players, but Man City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has reiterated their urgency regarding recruitment.
Despite having brought in four new acquisitions in a very short space of time last season, the 50-year-old argued that he wasn’t completely happy with the extent and speed of their business.
Giving a lengthy interview this week, CFG‘s founding chairman has imposed an internal deadline ahead of the lucrative knockout competition.
Speaking with club media, Khaldoon recognised that while there were incomings in January of this year, he believes they “should have been more aggressive in some of the changes we needed to do, adding that he believes it “cost [them].”
“I can tell you today, we have clearly identified who exactly [the targets are], in what positions, and we have our clear number one option, our clear number two option”, he continues.
More importantly, he goes on to add: “We’ll go about our business, and it will be very clear, very swift. Our objective is to try to be ready with the new squad for the Club World Cup.”
He also suggested the flurry of activity this past January was not just atypical of the administration, but felt the squad fell into a crisis state with the number of injuries, insisting they “had to act.”
City have already been linked with a hugely talented and highly-rated European target in the wake of Kevin De Bruyne‘s departure and a lack of strength in depth in midfield.
An initial bid is said to have been received already and will likely be the first of many City summer signings.
He also insisted that the players who joined last season weren’t scattershot, emergency transfers (perhaps barring the resigning of İlkay Gündoğan) but were the start of the rebuild and “gives [fans] an idea of what’s coming this summer.”
Another player linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium is Lyon star Rayan Cherki, who scored in big moments during their Europa League run this year, registering 32 goal contributions across all competitions throughout the 24/25 campaign.
Who would you like to see added to Pep Guardiola’s side this summer, then, Man City fans?
You can watch Khaldoon Al Mubarak’s interview in full down below:
Danny Jones -
13th October 2022 
