Sir Jim Ratcliffe aims ‘failure’ dig at Glazers as 'date set' for Sheikh Jassim's Man Utd takeover

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made a rare comment on his efforts to buy Manchester United amid claims that Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani will succeed the Glazers at Old Trafford.

United were first put up for sale in November 2022, sparking interest from several parties across the globe.

Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe soon emerged as frontrunners to buy the club - with both men submitting several offers to the Glazer family.

Almost a year on, the fate of the club's ownership remains up in the air, with the Daily Mail reporting earlier this month that the club had been taken off the market.

Ratcliffe has since lifted the lid on his attempts to secure a majority sale of United, which would see the Glazers retain a minority stake in the club.

In an interview on INEOS' YouTube channel, the 70-year-old claimed that his pursuit of United has been informed by the experiences he has from buying French clubs Laussane-Sport and OGC Nice.

"The Manchester United bid would have been unthinkable two or three years ago if we hadn't had some of the experiences - some quite difficult experiences with Laussane and Nice," he explained.

Ratcliffe added that "failure" would not have been an option if he was in charge in what could have been a subtle dig at the Glazers' tumultuous ownership.

"You can't really contemplate acquiring a brand like Manchester United and failing because the failure is just far too public and excruciating in a deal like that," the continued.

But despite reports claiming that the Glazers have taken the club off the market, The Sun claim that Sheikh Jassim has in fact agreed a £6 billion takeover with United, and the deal could go through as early as mid-October.

Sheikh Jassim's representatives are said to be completing their due diligence before completing a full takeover at Old Trafford, beating off competition from Ratcliffe.