Izuchukwu Okosi
Manchester United on Sunday evening announced the 25% acquisition of the club by Sir Jim Ratcliffe more than a year after the club was put up for sale by the Glazers.
Ratcliffe is widely known as the second most richest man in the United Kingdom and was linked with interest to buy Chelsea and Barcelona in the past.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelRatcliffe is the owner of petrochemicals company INEOS and had initially nodded to buy at least 69% stake at the club which was flatly denied by the Americans, Glazers family.
The club has revealed that aside the £1 billion deal, the new part owners will inject the sum of $300 million into it and take responsibility of running the football related aspects of the club which includes player buys and sales.
A Qatari investment group and Elon Musk were some of the earlier bidders for stakes at United.
The fanbase had always clamoured for communication with the hierachy at the club, something that they never enjoyed under the current majority shareholders.
The timing of the 25% takeover caught many in the football industry by surprise as the year 2023 winds down but with the January transfer window fast approaching, it could be a strategic step geared towards convincing players they have earmarked for recruitment.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
