One of British richest men wants to buy Manchester United

Ineos has entered the bidding process to buy Manchester United. Jim Ratcliffe, one of Britain’s richest men, has confirmed that he is officially in the running to purchase the club from the Glazers.

Parties have to register their interest with the merchant bank running the sale for the Glazer family. Bids are expected from the United States, the Middle East and Asia, but Ratcliffe — who is worth more than £6 billion — is the first to publicly confirm his interest. “We have formally put ourselves into the process,” a spokesman for the petrochemicals billionaire confirmed on Tuesday.

At this stage, parties have to sign up to see confidential financial documents and commit to undertaking due diligence before a possible takeover. Formal bids are expected to start next month. Sources close to the sales process believe it is too early to say if a sale can be completed before the end of the season. But The Times understands key meetings are taking place in London this week.

The Glazers would first have to be happy with the offer and, with speculation that they hope for more than £5 billion, it remains to be seen how high the bidding will go. Chelsea was sold to Todd Boehly and the rest of his ownership group last year for half that amount.

It was in November that the Glazer family announced that it was “commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives” for United, potentially bringing an end to 18 years of controversial ownership. A number of options “including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company” were to be considered.

While understood to be considering offers for minority stakes, a full sale is thought to be most likely, with the Glazers hoping that the club’s resurgence under Erik ten Hag will help to drive up the price. United are fourth in the Premier League table, only a point behind Manchester City in second, and looking strong in the pursuit of a place in the Champions League next season.

Ratcliffe made a bid for Chelsea last year but left it too late to register formal interest. He has been weighing up whether to bid for United, his boyhood club, and met Joel and Avram Glazer last year, though the club was not officially for sale at that point.

Since November, other parties had already made contact with Joe Ravitch, co-founder and partner of Raine, who is leading the process. The confirmation of Ratcliffe’s engagement with Raine may lead other groups to go public.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia have made clear their sporting ambitions, though state-backed interest is complicated by involvement at Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United respectively. Avram Glazer flew to the World Cup in Doha last year and is understood to have held a number of informal meetings with potential investors in the Emirate.

Ineos has made clear its own sporting intentions, with moves into cycling, rugby union, sailing, Formula One and football. A Ratcliffe bid would spark questions about the future of Nice, also owned by Ineos, though the group is believed to have considered different ownership models. Clubs under one owner would not be allowed to enter the same European competition.