BRITISH billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has said he does not want to pay a “stupid” price for Manchester United (Man Utd) ahead of Wednesday’s deadline for second offers for the Premier League club.
Mr. 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 £790 million ($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.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mr. 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,” Mr. Ratcliffe said.
According to a Sky Sports report, United are set to receive more than five bids before Wednesday’s deadline for second offers. — Reuters
