Man Utd takeover warning as ‘feeder club’ concerns are raised – ‘be careful what you wish for’
Journalist Jonathan Johnson has explained why Man Utd supporters ‘should be careful what they wish for’ when it comes to INEOS’ Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The British billionaire is in the running to become Man Utd’s new majority stakeholder. He is in a fight with Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim.
In recent weeks, it has been indicated that Ratcliffe is the most likely candidate to take control of United from the Glazer family. He is understood to be willing to keep the current owners on board with a reduced stake of around 20%.
Sheikh Jassim has submitted an improved offer which is worth around £5,5bn but he is only interested in a full takeover of the Premier League giants.
Ratcliffe is the current owner of Ligue 1 outfit Nice and he attempted to buy Chelsea last year before Todd Boehly’s consortium purchased the football club from Roman Abramovich.
Johnson has warned Man Utd that Ratcliffe’s work at Nice has ‘not been impressive’.
‘Although it’s been said that Nice will remain a priority for Ratcliffe, I’m not convinced that it will be. This is the third time that he’s looked to acquire another club, and given that it’s Manchester United, supposedly his childhood club, it seems difficult to me that Nice would really remain that important should they manage to get in at Old Trafford,’ Johnson wrote for Caught Offside.
‘I think given the financial needs of Manchester United, especially to get that deal over the line – we’re talking billions here -, let’s face it, Nice haven’t really been a success since he took over. It hasn’t been a complete disaster but it’s not been impressive.
‘Lausanne in Switzerland, one of their other clubs, hasn’t exactly been a roaring success either. So you do kind of wonder at some point if they do get United, what is the point of persevering with clubs like Nice?’
READ MORE: Surprise Liverpool, Man Utd markers and Rudiger antics… Haaland can be stopped – and here’s how
Johnson also points out that Nice’s supporters ‘won’t accept’ becoming a ‘feeder club’ to Man Utd.
‘The fans won’t accept Nice becoming a feeder club to Manchester United either. Of course, there would probably be some players sent out on loan, that sort of thing – you’ve got a similar situation happening with Strasbourg and Chelsea at the moment – but these are proud clubs that count for something on the French footballing landscape,’ Johnson added.
‘To simply think they’ll be there to supplement the first teams at some of these Premier League clubs is rich, and the fans won’t take that lying down.’
READ MORE: Where Quadruple bids failed… Spurs stumbles, dagger from Agger, Wigan woes, Nathan Jones?