Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly set to bid for Man Utd - but what has one of Britain's richest men said about taking over at Old Trafford?
The Telegraph reported on Wednesday evening that Ratcliffe, who is a United fan, will bid for the Red Devils after the Glazer family announced they were 'considering all strategic alternatives' on Tuesday, including new investment, or a partial or full sale. His interest is said to be 'serious'.
The news appears to represent somewhat of a U-turn by the Ineos founder, who, as per AP reporter James Robson, dropped interest in buying any Premier League club earlier this month.
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The Telegraph also claim that Ratcliffe has experience of working with Raine Group, the advisors appointed to oversee a sale of United.
But other reports in the Daily Mirror suggest that the Glazers want £8 billion to sell the club - which would smash the world-record sale for a sports club or franchise.
With all that in mind, what has Ratcliffe said about United, and potentially taking over the club, in the past?
Ratcliffe comments on Man Utd
The 70-year-old, who founded Ineos in 1998 and is its chairman and chief executive, also owns Ligue 1 club Nice.
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In addition, Ineos is a principal partner of the Mercedes Formula 1 team, and owns a third of the stake in the team, alongside team principal Toto Wolff and German company Daimler AG (The Mercedes-Benz Group).
Speaking at an event hosted by The Financial Times last month, Ratcliffe admitted that he and Ineos would have considered attempting to buy United in the summer - but the Glazers did not want to sell at the time.
He said: "Manchester United is owned by the Glazer family, whom I have met. I've met Joel and Avram and they are the nicest people, I have to say. They are proper gentlemen.
"They don't want to sell it. It's owned by the six children of the father and they don't want to sell it.
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"If it had been for sale in the summer then, yes, we would have probably had a go following on from the Chelsea thing. But we can't sit around hoping that, one day, Manchester United will become available.
"We have an exciting sporting franchise [Nice] but the one thing we don't have is a premier team.
"So what will happen now? We have a sports franchise. We own a third of Mercedes' Formula 1 team. Robbed last year. The one thing we don't have is football, the most popular sport in the world.
"We should have a premier club. Nice has got a very interesting history. We'll have a look at what we might be able to do with Nice."
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In 2019, shortly after purchasing Nice, he hinted at how he would operate at United if he ever took over in an interview with The Times (via Manchester Evening News): "[Ineos] never wants to be the dumb money in town, never. They [United] are in quite a big pickle as a business.
"They haven't got the manager selection right, haven't bought well. They have been the dumb money, which you see with players like Fred. United have spent an immense amount since Ferguson left and been poor, to put it mildly. Shockingly poor, to be honest.
"We have a different approach here to be moderately intelligent about it. Try to do it more grass roots, trying to locate young talent. Some clubs seem to have an ability to do that. Southampton, Lille.
"United have done it really poorly. They have lost the plot."
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Manchester United, Premier League