DATE SET FOR SIR JIM RATCLIFFE'S 25 PER CENT STAKE IN MAN UTD WORTH £1.25BN TO BE ANNOUNCED

Sir Jim Ratcliffe's deal for a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United will finally be confirmed in a fortnight, it has been claimed.

It was confirmed last month that the Ineos chief, 71, had struck a deal worth £1.25billion with the Glazer family after giving up on a full takeover. The agreement, which still needs formal ratification, will see Ratcliffe assume control of the club's sporting operations.

It had been expected that Ratcliffe's deal would be ratified during the recent international break, only for delays to strike. And it now seems that Ratcliffe and United fans will have to wait a little bit longer per a new report.

The Mail claims that although Ratcliffe and his team had hoped to have confirmation of the deal in place before next Tuesday's crunch Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich, that has been pushed back by a week due to 'legal structural matters'.

There is, however, still a chance that the Christmas period could cause further delays if the deal is not confirmed by then. It is outlined that those involved in the deal are hopeful that will not prove to be the case.

Regardless of whether or not the deal is announced before the festive period, formal approval is expected to take six to eight weeks, meaning Ratcliffe and co may miss the January transfer window.

Join the debate! How much of a difference do you think Ratcliffe will make at Man Utd? Let us know here.

Ratcliffe, who was one of the parties who expressed interest in the club when the Glazers first announced they were seeking investment, is likely to bring his people in behind the scenes but is expected to keep faith with Erik ten Hag.

The Dutchman has overseen Manchester United's worst start to a season in the Premier League era and Mirror Football revealed earlier this week that several players within the dressing room have become disillusioned with him.

But he was in a buoyant mood after beating Chelsea on Wednesday night following a vastly improved performance. He said: “We deserved this. We wanted to send this message to the crowd but this is also our style. In the first 30 minutes we did it perfectly on the pitch. We have steps to make. We are going in the right direction. This team will be good and this project will be good.

"You need to be at your best. When you are not, you get killed. We know that and we need the right attitude every game."

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2023-12-07T15:09:07Z dg43tfdfdgfd