“Jim Ratcliffe promises serious changes to everyone” – Kommersant FM

Businessman Jim Ratcliffe bought a 25% stake in Manchester United. It cost him almost €1.5 billion. At the same time, according to British media, fans have mixed feelings. Manchester United fans worry that this share alone is not enough to influence the situation. Will Ratcliffe be able to turn around a club that has been losing everything in recent years, despite a serious budget? Kommersant FM sports commentator Vladimir Osipov looked into it.

The value of Manchester players at the moment is almost €800 million. But despite this, the club did not qualify for any of the European Cups, and in the Premier League it ranks only eighth, regularly losing to everyone. It would seem that the purchase of shares in the club by Ratcliffe should cheer up the fans, but they, taught by bitter experience, doubt its success. Still, 25% of shares is not the whole club. True, fans are told that Ratcliffe will eventually buy 100%, but for now you need to carefully read the agreement between the Glazer family and Ratcliffe.

So the fans’ doubts can be understood, notes football manager Yuri Belous: “You just need to understand what 25% gives.” If these are just actions that prevent us from blocking and actually participating in club affairs, in transfers, in the appointment of a coach, then this means nothing. And if all this is spelled out in the charter, then it matters. 20% in many enterprises is a blocking package.”

But Ratcliffe is already promising serious changes and investments to everyone who cares about the famous club. For example, the new owner is going to spend about €270 million on the infrastructure of the Old Trafford stadium. And the club simply needs this, says commentator Denis Kazansky: “The stadium requires a lot of modernization, it is designed for about 75 thousand people, so serious plans are needed investing in its development, and this is a lot of money. Again, there is a training base there, everything connected with the club – that’s where the main funds will go.”

Serious investments in infrastructure indicate that Ratcliffe ultimately intends to buy the club entirely for about €6 billion. The Glazers were not satisfied with the amount of 5 billion that Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani could immediately pay. But now, owning 25% of the shares, Ratcliffe will be able to change the structure of the club when making sporting decisions. That is, the sports director and general director will report to the British billionaire.

And yet, despite Ratcliffe’s grandiose plans to make money from the acquisition of Manchester United, you definitely shouldn’t expect quick profits from the project, the former owner of the Spartak football club Andrei Chervichenko is sure: “In a good way, any business should pay off in about 10 years or give 10%. But if this is a business with huge sums, it should give at least 5%. How can Manchester make a profit if it costs, for example, €10 billion? It’s just easier to count with 10 than with 5. Let’s do the math: that means it should give somewhere from €1 billion to €500 million plus.

How can he earn that kind of money? I think no matter what, at this price it’s just a ticket to spending.

If only Manchester were a huge city like Moscow, but there is a city there – you look at all this grayness and you want to die.”

In addition, all these considerable sums that a new investor is ready to spend on Manchester are unlikely to quickly turn it into a super club. So the “Red Devils” and their fans face a difficult path to the top, and, most likely, this path will not be without scandals. Manchester United fans have waited too long for change. And whether they will endure for several more years is a question that remains unanswered.

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