Glazer family not ready to sell Manchester United billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe says
The British billionaire businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe has revealed he has been told the Glazers are not interested in selling Manchester United.
The Failsworth-born chemical engineer - thought to be the second richest person in the UK - was unsuccessful in his bid to buy Chelsea in May, but remained open to an investment opportunity at Old Trafford.
However, speaking at a Financial Times Live conference on Tuesday 11 October, Ratcliffe said: "Manchester United is owned by the Glazer family, whom I have met. 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.
"If it had been for sale in the summer, yes we would probably have had a go following on from the Chelsea thing."
This news will come as a blow to some Manchester United fans who have been protesting for years to try and get the Glazer family out of the club.
Fans group The 1958 say they are an "underground group of reds intent on upholding the values of Manchester United, its culture and traditions".
The group has already arranged a number of protests against the Glazers, saying the family is "systematically starving and killing the greatest football institution in world football, for greed".
Prior to the Glazer takeover of Manchester United in 2005, the club had been debt free since the 1930s.
The 1958 group is now calling for fans to march again at the Newcastle game at Old Trafford on Sunday 16 October, saying in a post on social media "We have a buyer, let's make them sell".
Who is Sir Jim Ratcliffe?
Jim Ratcliffe is an English billionaire chemical engineer and businessman.
He was born in Failsworth in Greater Manchester in 1952 where sources say he lived in a council house until the age of 10, when his family moved to East Yorkshire.
His first job was with oil giant Esso, but he decided to broaden his skills into finance by studying management accounting from 1978 to 1980.
Ratcliffe is now chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Ineos chemicals group which he founded in 1998.
He is a Manchester United supporter and a big sports fan, already being involved with a number of different sports clubs.
Ineos group already owns two football clubs, Nice in France and Swiss club Lausanne.
On 19 March 2019, Ratcliffe purchased the Team Sky cycling franchise, subsequently rebranded Team Ineos.
In February 2020 Ineos became principal partners of Mercedes AMG F1, signing a five-year agreement with the team.
In August 2022, Ratcliffe expressed interest in buying Manchester United but after this latest development it now looks as if his interest will be elsewhere.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...