Jim Ratcliffe won't pay 'stupid' price for Manchester United

British INEOS Group chairman Jim Ratcliffe says he won’t make pay a stupid price for Manchester United. Photo: Valery Hache/EPA

British INEOS Group chairman Jim Ratcliffe says he won’t make pay a stupid price for Manchester United. Photo: Valery Hache/EPA

Published Mar 21, 2023

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Bengaluru - British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has said he does not want to pay a "stupid" price for Manchester United ahead of Wednesday's deadline for second offers for the Premier League club.

Ratcliffe, a life-long United fan and founder of chemicals producer INEOS, put in a bid for the club in February.

United's current owners, the Glazer family, began looking at options for the record 20-time English champions, including new investment or a potential sale, in November, 17 years after they bought the club for $968.30 million as part of a highly leveraged deal.

Any sale of United would likely exceed the biggest sports deal so far - the $5.2 billion including debt and investments paid for Chelsea, sources have told Reuters previously.

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In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Ratcliffe described the club as a "community asset" rather than a financial one.

"How do you decide the price of a painting? How do you decide the price of a house? It's not related to how much it cost to build or how much it cost to paint," Ratcliffe said.

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"What you don't want to do is pay stupid prices for things because then you regret it subsequently."

According to a Sky Sports report, United are set to receive more than five bids before Wednesday's deadline for second offers.

Reuters