Sir Jim Ratcliffe is prepared to commit $300million (£245m) of his personal wealth for infrastructure upgrades at Manchester United.
INEOS, the petrochemicals company owned by Ratcliffe, is set to purchase a 25 per cent stake in United from the Glazer family.
Ratcliffe’s $300m investment would come out of his own pocket and would not add to United’s existing debt, which stands at $650m. It has not yet been officially agreed or signed but the cash injection is expected to happen.
It would also be only an initial investment — insufficient to completely fix the notable problems at Old Trafford, the club’s 74,000-seater stadium, and at Carrington, their training complex — with significantly more investment required in the future.
INEOS has experience with big infrastructure projects, with the company having just undertaken a five-year project to construct a chemical plant in Antwerp which involves “building and installing similar infrastructure that you would find in any small town or village”.
Well it’s a start but it will only count for something if he can fully buy out the Glazers, otherwise the only people benefiting from his investment is them as they continue to leech more dividends from the club.