Jim Ratcliffe is far from Man Utd diehard – but he could restore glory

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s cards are on the table – he is in for Manchester United. The confirmation of the petrochemical billionaire’s bid to purchase the club from the Glazers has been met with near-universal glee from United fans. That is primarily because he is not the Glazers but the added bonus for many of them is that Ratcliffe is a Mancunian and a United supporter himself. 

Should this factor be relevant? Instinctively you would think so. In theory an emotional attachment to the club and the area lends itself to Ratcliffe bringing an element of philanthropy to his stewardship if he is successful. 

The vision is of a modern-age version of the local mill owner who funds the town team in a display of civic pride only with a slightly fatter cheque book. That is an image he would happily dine out on but let’s not get too carried away with the schmaltz here. 

Ratcliffe’s local credentials aren’t quite what they once were. His love of Manchester does not extend to actually wanting to live there. In 2020 he swapped his Hampshire estate for a more tax-efficient existence in Monaco.

Nor has his boyhood devotion to United stopped him having a season ticket at Chelsea, his initial Premier League buyout target last year.

In France he owns Nice, in Switzerland Lausanne. Outside football, beyond his cycling and yachting team, his Ineos company has backed Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge’s sub-two hour Marathon bid, invested in German F1 team Mercedes and sponsored the New Zealand rugby union team.

Ratcliffe may once have counted the chimneys out of his bedroom window in Failsworth but the reality is that he is very much a sporting globalist now.

He will play the north-west card in the PR battle that will accompany the auction and that may well appeal to United fans disillusioned by what American ownership has looked like over the past 18 years but it should matter more what Ratcliffe intends to do with his shiny red plaything than what his postcode was 70 years ago.

For Ratcliffe the United mission will be twofold. The first is not to syphon off hundreds of millions of pounds while he is in the big chair. That should be straightforward enough but wealthy businessmen do have a weakness for money. The second is to bring the trophies back to Old Trafford. 

Things are headed in the right direction on that front. United have stumbled across a manager in Erik ten Hag who has restored order, lanced the Cristiano Ronaldo boil and got the squad pointing in the same direction again.

They are the only club still involved in every competition this season. Despite Crystal Palace’s late equaliser in midweek, they could even be considered title contenders again should they win at Arsenal on Sunday.

From a purely football point of view, it feels like a good time to buy United. As first out of the blocks to declare, Ratcliffe has signalled his intentions. 

Should he be successful in freeing United from Glazer control he would enjoy a honeymoon period from a grateful supporter base but he should be realistic about the longevity of the saviour cape, local lad or not.

Supporters ultimately do not care what it says on the passport, just what the owner does with their precious club. Ratcliffe could come from Manchester, Mauritius or Mars. In the end, as at any team, it will be all about delivering on expectations.

And nowhere are they bigger than at Old Trafford.