British Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe "Definitely A Potential Buyer" For Manchester United

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is very interested in buying Manchester United.

The 69-year-old English chemical engineer and businessman is worth $13 billion, according to Forbes, with United valued at $4.6bn by the same source in May.

News of Ratcliffe's interest comes after Bloomberg reported that the Glazer family would be willing to sell a minority stake in the club.

Reacting to that news, Ratcliffe's spokesperson told The Times: "If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer.

"If something like this was possible, we would be interested in talking with a view to long-term ownership."

The Glazers' popularity as United owners is at an all-time low.

Many fans are wholly dissatisfied with the level of investment after last season was the club's worst in Premier League history.

With United currently bottom of the EPL table, there is expected to be another protest against the Glazers' ownership before next week's game against Liverpool.

United fans also held a protest before a fixture against Liverpool in May 2021, causing the game to be postponed. 

Ratcliffe is a United fan himself, though his interest in potentially taking over at Old Trafford comes months after he tried to buy Chelsea.

In May Ratcliffe explained to BBC Sport that he was bidding for Chelsea and not United because the latter were not for sale.

His company, Ineos, already owns French club Nice.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe pictured at a Ligue 1 game between Nice and PSG in 2019

IMAGO/PanoramiC/Norbert Scanella