With the Glazer family having put Manchester United up for sale late last year, Britain's richest man has officially declared his intention to buy the club.
In November 2022, United's current owners announced that they were willing to listen to offers for the club after 17 years running the side.
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With their reign being marred by constant fan protests and lacklustre results on the pitch following legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013, a statement by United at the time confirmed plans to identify "strategic alternatives" and consider various options, including new investment into the club and a sale.
A potential suitor has now officially emerged, with the businessman known to be Britain's richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, having entered the race to buy the team.
"We have formally put ourselves into the process," a spokesperson for Ratcliffe's chemical company INEOS told The Times.
The billionaire, who also owns French club Nice, made an attempt to buy Chelsea last year after previous owner Roman Abramovich was forced to sell the Blues following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
His bid was rejected, though, with the West Londoners later being acquired by a United States consortium led by businessman Todd Boehly.
According to Sky Sports chief journalist Kaveh Solhekol, with Ratcliffe now a frontrunner for a proposed takeover of the Red Devils, the sale could take place before the end of the current season.
"Sir Jim Ratcliffe has always made it clear he wants to buy a Premier League club," Solhekol said.
"A few years ago he said Premier League clubs were overvalued, which is why he went and bought Nice for €100 million (R1.8 billion). He said he wasn't going to spend billions of pounds on a Premier League club, but his attitude has changed over the past few years.
"His company has a lot of interest in different sports, he's somebody who grew up as a Manchester United supporter even though he regularly goes to watch Chelsea.
"Last year, he tried to buy Chelsea when they were put up for sale. He made a very, very late bid of about £4.25 billion (R89 billion), which matched the winning bid.
"This time, as far as Manchester United are concerned, he's the first person to show his hand. I think what we'll see now is more people showing their hands and more people getting to look at the books. Then next month, we'll start hearing about different bids that are being made.
"I think we can anticipate Manchester United changing hands before the end of the season if the club is sold 100%."
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WATCH: SIR JIM RATCLIFFE ENTERS THE RACE TO BUY UNITED
