Sir Jim Ratcliffe buying a share of Manchester United has cost the club over $50 million. The British billionaire previously acquired a minority share of around 27% in the club back in February. Despite holding a relatively modest piece of the pie, Ratcliffe paid current Red Devils majority owners about $1.6 billion for the stake.
Most minority owners of soccer teams do not exactly have a ton of say in daily operations. This, however, is not the case with Ratcliffe. United’s majority owners, the Glazer family, have seemingly outsourced control of the club to Ratcliffe and his company, INEOS. The virtual changing of the guard has triggered a series of unpopular decisions by Ratcliffe.
While he remains one of the richest figures in the United Kingdom, Ratcliffe has opted for multiple cost-cutting measures since arriving at the club. Nevertheless, the moves directly affect many of the average workers within the team. For instance, the billionaire told the club’s staff back in May that they could no longer work from home. Weeks later, Ratcliffe then essentially fired 250 total employees at the team’s facilities.
The harsh moves, however, came as United recorded major losses during the third quarter of the financial year. According to The Guardian, the English club posted $91.6 in losses in this timeframe. A significant chunk of these losses came directly from Ratcliffe buying into United.
The British news source reports that the billionaire’s purchase of the minority stake cost the club around $51 million. Much of this surprising setback supposedly came from legal and consultancy fees.
Despite the news, United sees the hit as a short-term issue. Ratcliffe previously pledged around $300 million in new investments looking ahead. $200 million of this sum has already been used to renovate the club’s training center. The overhaul, however, also forced the women’s team to practice in portable structures to make room for the men. The men’s side will continue using the usual women’s building while the renovations continue.
While Ratcliffe has been creative in his cost-cutting measures, he is also attempting to flex his financial muscle in the transfer market. The Red Devils are seemingly set to sign star Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee. The Dutch forward has a release clause in his current contract of around $42 million. This price tag, however, could balloon even further up to $59 million when agent fees are considered.
United brass are also reportedly negotiating a deal with Bayern Munich over defender Matthijs de Ligt. The German giants are open to selling the fellow Dutchman for around $53 million. If completed, De Ligt could be joined in Manchester by teenage phenom Leny Yoro.
United has already seen a $48 million offer accepted by Lille for the highly-rated youngster. Nevertheless, the youngster is waiting to see if Real Madrid will enter the negotiations. PSG‘s Manuel Ugarte is also being targeted by United as well.
While many top English teams exercise patience in the market, Ratcliffe and United want to get business going early. The Red Devils certainly need to make some smart player moves this summer to compete in the Premier League. Nevertheless, Ratcliffe is doing his part at the moment.
PHOTOS: IMAGO
