Erik ten Hag has finally responded to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 25% purchase of Manchester United Football Club, stating that he is “looking forward” to working with the new minority shareholder.
News of the investment from Ratcliffe and the INEOS group was finally confirmed on Christmas Eve after a long period of radio silence and more than a year of uncertainty since the club was first put up for sale by the Glazer family.
That being said, regarding the manager and his squad, all eyes were on getting back to winning ways following a poor run of form and a painful goal drought for the fans, and they managed to do just that with a vintage Man United comeback with a festive 3-2 victory over high-flying Aston Villa.
Speaking in a positive post-match for a change, ten Hag now shared his reaction following the arrival of Sir Jim and the new part-owners, assuring that despite the impressive turnaround on the pitch on Boxing Day, he doesn’t believe the long drawn-out process “had an impact on the players” at all.
ten Hag reacts to Jim Ratcliffe completing his purchase of a minority stake in Manchester United.
The Dutchman went on to insist, “I was kept informed during the whole process, first from Richard Arnold [who left the club back in November], later on from Patrick Stewart [his new interim replacement as CEO], so I knew what was going on.
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“We’re looking forward [to it]. I think it’s positive for the club that they’re stepping in. They have a lot of experience in sport on the highest level: F1, [the INEOS Grenadiers] cycling team, other football clubs [OGC Nice, so it can only help and support us to catch our targets… They want to work with us, and we want to work with them.”
The Failsworth-born billionaire is yet to have his deal finalised by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) but once it is fully ratified, it is said the 71-year-old and his team will be given total control over all footballing matters.
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While a 100% takeover would have obviously been the ideal situation for United fans, the first impressions following an open letter to the supporters — believed to have been penned by Ratcliffe himself — have on the whole been very positive.
First impressions count. Very different from the way the Glazers did it. We are told it was written by Sir Jim himself, with no comms help. One step at a time, but promising. #mufc
Feeling so heady right now I'm putting a ton on a 3-0 win. 😄 (not really!) https://t.co/uEg5zPeL73
As the letter goes on to detail, Sir Jim says he believes his administration can bring “success on the pitch to complement the undoubted commercial success that the club has enjoyed”, but adds that “it will require time and patience alongside rigour and the highest level of professional management.
The much-needed Premier League win was just the start all parties concerned would have been hoping for to kick off the new era of joint ownership and the perfect way to round out what has obviously been a very turbulent year for the Red Devils.
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With Ratcliffe reported to be investing over £1.3 billion into the club, including around £237m set aside to improve Old Trafford and surrounding infrastructure, it could be a very different second half of the season and 2024 onward.
The home side already showed more of what the fans are after on the pitch on Tuesday, with youngster Alejandro Garnacho spurring on a remarkable second half and Rasmus Højlund dubbing himself the “happiest man alive” following his first league goal.
You can watch the highlights from United’s comeback against Villa down here.
Two Manchester Basketball players have been named in the SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26
Danny Jones
A pair of Manchester Basketball players have been named in the latest SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26.
The most recent UK Super League Basketball (SLB) campaign is set to wrap up this month, with the playoffs taking place down in the capital, but there are other awards to be handed out before then.
It remains to be seen how ‘The Final Four’ phase will play out at The O2 in London on 17 May, but we can definitely take joy in moments like this.
Announced on Thursday, 7 May, Manchester Basketball confirmed that duo Max Jones and Jordan Johnson have joined the rest of the league’s roster of the best players this term.
As detailed on the club website, “Max has averaged 17.4 points in the SLB in 32 games – he’s been a starter for the franchise and was also named in the ENBL All-Star Five in Germany last month.
“Jordan averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 assists in 30 games in the SLB, had a stellar European campaign and hit 30 pts in just over 27 minutes in the SLB Cup Final.”
Commenting on social media, one fan wrote: “Both JJ and PJ have been so great at the PG spot all year. I feel this is a joint award for them both, but they can only fill one spot for the accolade. If we wanna be a serious club to build upon year on year, JJ also needs to be in an MCR jersey next year.
“We absolutely have the pieces to build around. JJ’s nerve is sooooo cool under pressure. You can just tell they wanna loft a meaningful trophy, and it’s gonna happen if we as a club plan and build the way we need to.”
Plenty of supporters have also stressed the importance of making sure that the board tie down the likes of Jones and other big talents this summer; the rest of the Molten All-League Team of the Season for 2025/26 can be found below.
It’s also worth noting that teammate Tim Adetukasi and women’s team star Irene Oboavwoduo have each been named in the SLB’s British Team of the Year in their respective divisions for 2026.
Writing in a club statement reflecting on a great week of recognition for the resurgent club, General Manager Dominique Allen said: “We are really proud to be a club flying the flag for British players.
Both Tim and Irene have made a real impact on and off the court. We’re really happy for both of them that they are getting some well-deserved recognition.”
Well done to all the MCR stars who are helping get the franchise back on its feet following such a major rebrand across the board.
Here’s looking forward to another promising and productive year for Manchester Basketball.
Manchester City win first Women’s Super League title in a decade
Danny Jones
After a decade of hope and hard work, Manchester City have finally won the Women’s Super League once again in a huge moment for the local club.
Lifting not just their first division title in 10 years, but only their second WSL trophy since the modern female football era began in 2010, it felt like only a matter of time to many supporters.
Ending a six-year Chelsea supremacy, this is also manager Andrée Jeglertz’s first at the helm of Man City’s women’s team, who arrived at the club with a strong silverware record at the start of this season.
These were the scenes at home base as one key result sealed their status as champions:
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) May 6, 2026
City Women secured the WSL title following third-placed Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Brighton on Wednesday evening.
They even managed to do so with a game to spare and a six-point gap over the west London club, which has won so much over the past few years.
Speaking in an interview with club media after confirmation of the win, captain and Euro 2025-winning Lionesses defender, Alex Greenwood, said: “[It feels] absolutely incredible. “A moment – we as a team, me personally – us as a club has waited so long for”.
“An incredible moment, it’s an incredible feeling. I’m so glad we got to spend this moment together as a group. Just an absolutely incredible feeling.”
With fans watching both at home, along with the first team themselves, the celebrations have already begun as the team shared a look back at how they got here.
You can see the recap posted on social media in full below.
Commenting on his latest accolade, the Swedish head coach added in a full club statement: “There’s never been doubt about the talent in the group, but there is something else about talking about being winners and champions. We started that early, and we believed in that. That’s led us through this year.
“It hasn’t been easy; it’s been hard work every day, but we had a strong belief that we could be sitting here in May and be champions. That is the first thing, and we definitely deserve it.”
Congratulations to the Cityzens on a well-deserved and long-awaited WSL title; could this be the start of another sporting dynasty of dominance over in East Manchester? Only time will tell…
In other news around the Etihad Campus, the women’s, EDS and academy team stadium is also set to host the final of the FA Youth Cup later this month.
Danny Jones -
27th December 2023 
