How Jim Ratcliffe’s personal approach outmanoeuvred Qatar in the race to buy Man United

In the latest dramatic twist in a controversial saga, the Glazer family is poised to sell a minority stake in one of the world’s biggest clubs to the Ineos billionaire, Miguel Delaney reveals how Ratcliffe’s audacious and creative bid outplayed his Qatari rival

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is keen to acquire 25 percent of Man Utd (Getty Images)

By the time that Sheikh Jassim’s camp made it known they were withdrawing their bid to buy Manchester United, the Glazers were barely paying attention. The truth was that the Qatari businessmen had actually pulled out days before, after final desperate talks with his representative Shahzad Shahbaz in the second week of October. This was all because Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos group have actually been in talks about a minority stake for at least two months.

That move came from a crucial calculation, that looks to have set a path to “victory”. It may even lead to majority ownership of Man United, depending on talks in the next few weeks. Ratcliffe and his advisors suspected from the very start that the six Glazer siblings wouldn’t be able to agree on a full sale, and the signs of that were all too clear as long ago as April.

The process had already been unusually protracted, as it went to a third round of bids. While four of the siblings wanted to sell at a price of at least £6bn, the two brothers most involved with United - Avram and Joel - were intent on staying involved. That meant the unanimity necessary for a full sale would probably never happen.