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.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
27th December 2023 
