Sir Jim Ratcliffe: I want to buy Manchester United | Will make a bid for the club [Telegraph]

Champ said:
I keep hearing that Ratcliffe hasn't done anything Nice and is by and large a poor owner, which to me couldn't be further from the truth.
He has stated (actually his brother has) several times that the investment into Nice is hampered by FFP restrictions, which is why they have made steady but unspectacular signings.
Most of their signings have been young players for future planning, Ratcliffe has improved the youth structure, training facilities and scouting networks at the club.

Also Ratcliffe has made it clear that Nice are just a stepping stone, a part of something bigger, he wants a third football team, a bigger team, so he can almost use Nice as a feeder style club rather like the red bull teams.

So whilst Nice haven't become a major force in France since the takeout, they have become a consistent upper mid table team with a steady foundation. They are severely hampered by their income which has stopped any major leaps but INEOS have made it clear that they are willing to keep putting in the money.

Seems like a step above the Glazers to me.
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He seems like a nice bloke. The sort of guys who first screw the country by backing Brexit and by polluting the areas his factories are and then he moves on to live in a tax free country.
 
sglowrider said:
This is when you hope the Glazers do their due diligence on who they want to sell the club to. And not try and extract the most ---- Someone who promises them $ 10 billion but whose package is heavily reliant on debt or someone who is cash rich and is offering $8Billion for example.
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Thats a bit hard to do I reckon. They want the most money and be done with the club.
 
devilish said:
He seems like a nice bloke. The sort of guys who first screw the country by backing Brexit and by polluting the areas his factories are and then he moves on to live in a tax free country.
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Firstly he is entitled to believe in Brexit, as messed up as that may be, it was a democratic vote.
Secondly, his factory's environmental record is awful, hopefully it gets highlighted more.

Thirdly Man Utd for a while were based in the Cayman Islands, not sure of the shell company still is or not, so tax free havens isn't exactly alien to this club.

So yeah, anything else?
 
Champ said:
Firstly he is entitled to believe in Brexit, as messed up as that may be, it was a democratic vote.
Secondly, his factory's environmental record is awful, hopefully it gets highlighted more.

Thirdly Man Utd for a while were based in the Cayman Islands, not sure of the shell company still is or not, so tax free havens isn't exactly alien to this club.

So yeah, anything else?
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He voted Brexit because new anti pollution laws would have hurt him. He has nothing against the EU. In fact he moved to Monaco. He also a United fan who also has a season ticket with Chelsea. Top bloke and a top red
 
devilish said:
He voted Brexit because new anti pollution laws would have hurt him. He has nothing against the EU. In fact he moved to Monaco. He also a United fan who also has a season ticket with Chelsea. Top bloke and a top red
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So we are on the look out for a Billionaire United fan who has never watched another team in his life, pays all of his taxes, has always used electric cars, is a vegan and never flies anywhere?

Slim pickings for that one I fear.

He voted Brexit because like everyone else who voted for it they believed they'd prosper, alas we know that only the rich prosper from these things anyhow.
Monaco isn't in the EU also.
 
Champ said:
So we are on the look out for a Billionaire United fan who has never watched another team in his life, pays all of his taxes, has always used electric cars, is a vegan and never flies anywhere?

Slim pickings for that one I fear.

He voted Brexit because like everyone else who voted for it they believed they'd prosper, alas we know that only the rich prosper from these things anyhow.
Monaco isn't in the EU also.
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My point is that if there's no decent rich guy out there to own us then we might as well go for someone who is filthy rich and can afford to take us to the next level and make us compete with the Dubai/Abu Dhabi guys. Ratcliffe looks to me more like the Nice/Lausanne-Sport version of the Glazers. But hey he can spot OT on a map.
 
devilish said:
He voted Brexit because new anti pollution laws would have hurt him. He has nothing against the EU. In fact he moved to Monaco. He also a United fan who also has a season ticket with Chelsea. Top bloke and a top red
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The worse kind of Brexiter imo. I agree it was a democratic vote and I don’t judge those that voted leave negatively based on their vote or desire to leave.

But the people I judge, other than those with clear racist views, are the rich & powerful who used their influence and vote for something that they didn’t believe was in the best interest of the nation knowing that they as individuals would not be effected by it.
 
All I want from an owner is somebody who can clear the debt, stop taking a huge dividend and let the club get on with it.
 
Seems that since other parties came to the table he is now suddenly seen as British Glazer which wasn't the case before
 
sglowrider said:
Doubt if Dubai has the financial bandwidth to do the deal. They still own their cousins, Abu Dhabi a lot from the last financial crisis when they almost went belly-up if not for the intervention of their cuz.
They don't have any of the oil&gas resources like their cousins -- relying on real estate, finance and their charms to survive.
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You would think only oil cities have a chance of surviving. Dubai is a major tourism and financial hub.
 
Think he would be seen in a more favourable light by doubters IF things were going better for his current club. I will say that you shouldn't compare running Nice to Utd though as he will working with different level of finance here and player too.
 
This guy was nice and gobby when United was unattainable. Now you can't get a word out of the cnut.
 
devilish said:
He voted Brexit because new anti pollution laws would have hurt him. He has nothing against the EU. In fact he moved to Monaco. He also a United fan who also has a season ticket with Chelsea. Top bloke and a top red
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Not to mention him being fined for dumping caustic soda in the Manchester ship canal, no less.
 
Loon said:
This guy was nice and gobby when United was unattainable. Now you can't get a word out of the cnut.
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He is intimidated by the competition so the romantics in our fanbase could be swallowing a very bitter pill with our ownership
 
Loon said:
This guy was nice and gobby when United was unattainable. Now you can't get a word out of the cnut.
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He's literally said he will bid. What more do you want? He'd look daft talking over and over then failing
 
AlPistacho said:
The worse kind of Brexiter imo. I agree it was a democratic vote and I don’t judge those that voted leave negatively based on their vote or desire to leave.

But the people I judge, other than those with clear racist views, are the rich & powerful who used their influence and vote for something that they didn’t believe was in the best interest of the nation knowing that they as individuals would not be effected by it.
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I would imagine majority of people vote due to a personal feeling and not because of a wider thought process.
 
Champ said:
I would imagine majority of people vote due to a personal feeling and not because of a wider thought process.
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Yes I agree that’s why I don’t really judge the majority. It’s the few who voted Brexit, due to whatever business interest/motive, while at the same time securing residency abroad to retain all the benefits of the EU or buying those £2m passports EU passports that I resent.
 
devilish said:
My point is that if there's no decent rich guy out there to own us then we might as well go for someone who is filthy rich and can afford to take us to the next level and make us compete with the Dubai/Abu Dhabi guys. Ratcliffe looks to me more like the Nice/Lausanne-Sport version of the Glazers. But hey he can spot OT on a map.
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He is nothing like the Glazers.

He has put money into Nice for sure, however he didn't have to improve the ground or facilities as they were pretty new anyhow.
But INEOS has for sure put a fair bit of their own cash into the club and have improved the youth structure and scouting networks, again something the Glazers haven't done til now.
 
AlPistacho said:
Yes I agree that’s why I don’t really judge the majority. It’s the few who voted Brexit, due to whatever business interest/motive, while at the same time securing residency abroad to retain all the benefits of the EU or buying those £2m passports EU passports that I resent.
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Don't get me wrong, that boils my blood too, but alas that's the democratic principles we live by.
Also I'd wager that near enough every mega rich business persons outlook (not all but most) what's best for them and their prospects.
 
Adam-Utd said:
All I want from an owner is somebody who can clear the debt, stop taking a huge dividend and let the club get on with it.
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That’s the first part, they also have to be willing to be active in the running of the club by firing and hiring the best people to do that and not leaving total failures in a post because it’s easy to do so
 
crossy1686 said:
That’s the first part, they also have to be willing to be active in the running of the club by firing and hiring the best people to do that and not leaving total failures in a post because it’s easy to do so
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You see that's where the state owners excel
 
Champ said:
He is nothing like the Glazers.

He has put money into Nice for sure, however he didn't have to improve the ground or facilities as they were pretty new anyhow.
But INEOS has for sure put a fair bit of their own cash into the club and have improved the youth structure and scouting networks, again something the Glazers haven't done til now.
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Shouldn't this be factored into the equation for us?
 
darioterios said:
Shouldn't this be factored into the equation for us?
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I'd say it's irrelevant, he's willing to carry on putting money into Nice and structuring the football side.
Who ever buys knows they need to improve facilities including the ground.
The Glazers know that too, the process has started.
 
Champ said:
I'd say it's irrelevant, he's willing to carry on putting money into Nice and structuring the football side.
Who ever buys knows they need to improve facilities including the ground.
The Glazers know that too, the process has started.
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Our needs are Nice times 20 or 30 though, especially with Newcastle on steroids, I am really worried.
 
I don't think he has the extra cash to spare.

Seems to be stingy as well but as long as he doesn't take away money from the club it shouldn't matter.
 
Champ said:
He is nothing like the Glazers.

He has put money into Nice for sure, however he didn't have to improve the ground or facilities as they were pretty new anyhow.
But INEOS has for sure put a fair bit of their own cash into the club and have improved the youth structure and scouting networks, again something the Glazers haven't done til now.
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Because Nice will mostly likely look to sell on young prospects and get big money for them, not because they want to break a monopoly on the league.
 
Adam-Utd said:
All I want from an owner is somebody who can clear the debt, stop taking a huge dividend and let the club get on with it.
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See that's the problem. No one except state owned firms are going to spend 4-6 billions from their personal account. Every prospective buyer (again unless owned by state) will need lending for which the collateral will be the club itself. The moment you are lending, the debt is back on and we will have huge amount to pay back every year.

Basically only one of the below options will work

Get ready to be owned by a state . Feck values .
Or
Be ready for the process of debt again ,probably by a Glazer mk 2. But we will still have the morale values.
 
Champ said:
He is nothing like the Glazers.

He has put money into Nice for sure, however he didn't have to improve the ground or facilities as they were pretty new anyhow.
But INEOS has for sure put a fair bit of their own cash into the club and have improved the youth structure and scouting networks, again something the Glazers haven't done til now.
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I don't recall the Glazers or one of its firms had released caustic soda into the Manchester ship canal though. That doesn't mean he's not a true red though. Ok he might be the kind who has a Chelsea season ticket, who tried to buy a rival club and who prefer to live in Monaco to avoid paying taxes in the UK. But a true red nevertheless.
 
bond19821982 said:
See that's the problem. No one except state owned firms are going to spend 4-6 billions from their personal account. Every prospective buyer (again unless owned by state) will need lending for which the collateral will be the club itself. The moment you are lending, the debt is back on and we will have huge amount to pay back every year.

Basically only one of the below options will work

Get ready to be owned by a state . Feck values .
Or
Be ready for the process of debt again ,probably by a Glazer mk 2. But we will still have the morale values.
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Chelsea haven't been?

I don't think they're being sucked dry of their profit either. Why should we be different?

I know Boehly has acted like a bit of a spoilt child since taking over but that'll settle once the novelty wears off.
 
Been offline a couple of days but I am bored and back now so lets deconstruct this post. I know it is punching down but Iran just destroyed my dreams of World Cup glory, in fact they destroyed my dreams of mere World Cup respectability and so swinging the bat at some low hanging fruit might make me feel better.

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:
You do realise he is worth £15bn, right?
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I realise he has a net worth of £15bn the vast majority of which is not liquid. He does not have £6bn in cash which is what I said so I am not sure what point you are trying to make. Net worth and cash on hand are two entirely different things, you do get that right?

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:
You don't have to be an "altruistic soul" to spend some of your own money on improving the club you support. He's previously spoken about wanting to leave a legacy behind now that he's in his 70s. Paying off United's existing debts would be a tap in for him in terms of beginning to cement his legacy.
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He has openly spoken about viewing it as a business opportunity not to mention he would be purchasing it as part of the INEOS group as an investment. The fantasy that he is going to wipe away hundreds of millions of pounds of debt is comical. He might have a business plan to run the club more sustainably and eliminate the debt over time but he will not be giving away his own money.

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:
He's a lifelong United fan who went to a few Chelsea games because Stamford Bridge was on his doorstep. It's really not that big of a deal. Besides, even if he was a diehard Chelsea fan, that in no way strengthens your argument that he'd be as bad for us as the Glazers. Your agenda against Ratcliffe is a bit weird. What's he done to offend you this deeply?
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Now we get to the projection part of your post. I have no agenda and he has done nothing to offend me personally. I don't call being a season ticket holder at Stamford Bridge for 10 years just going to a few games but whatever. I did not call him a diehard Chelsea fan I was just illustrating the point that he is not the United super fan that people seem to think he is, I don't honestly think he is a diehard fan of anyone or football in general, he is a businessman. He might be better than the Glazers but he is a businessman first and foremost and he won't buy the club unless he sees profit in it for himself.

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:
Oh I get it. You dislike Ratcliffe because he was a Brexit supporter. Dry your eyes mate. There's plenty of other billionaires out there who have done a lot worse than being pro-Leave.
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Congratulations! You put 2+2 together and got 5. Whether he was for or against Brexit is immaterial. I was making a point about the difference between promises and reality and unless you think Brexit has been a booming success and the Project Leave team never told any lies then you would have understood that.
 
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