New Manchester United era officially begins as Sir Jim Ratcliffe completes deal to become minority owner

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has officially completed a deal to buy 27.7 per cent of Manchester United, the club have announced. The British billionaire has become a minority owner of the Premier League giants after investing £1.25billion. New minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has big plans for the clubGetty United confirmed the news after Ratcliffe received approval from the Premier League and the Football Association. INEOS chief Ratcliffe, who already owns Ligue 1 club Nice, has pledged a further £236m into future development of Old Trafford. The 71-year-old and his team have been delegated responsibility of the club’s football operations. It brings an end to a 15-month saga after the Glazers announced their decision to ‘explore strategic alternatives’ for the club. The Americans remain in majority control after opting against a full sale. Ratcliffe said: “To become co-owner of Manchester United is a great honour and comes with great responsibility. This marks the completion of the transaction, but just the beginning of our journey to take Manchester United back to the top of English, European and world football, with world-class facilities for our fans. “Work to achieve those objectives will accelerate from today.” Executive Co-Chairman Joel Glazer said: “I would like to welcome Sir Jim as co-owner and look forward to working closely with him and INEOS Sport to deliver a bright future for Manchester United.” Ratcliffe has already been hard at work behind the scenesGetty The terms of the deal means Nice owner Ratcliffe will have first refusal and a chance to buy further shares for a period of 12 months should the Glazers decide to cash in on more. Ratcliffe, who is said to be worth around £29.7billion, is planning to lead an overhaul of United’s playing squad, as he looks to bring the glory days back to the red-half of Manchester. The boyhood United fan has conducted a series of meetings with club staff and associates in recent weeks after being publicly unveiled in January. He met manager Erik ten Hag, leaders of the independent Manchester United Supporters’ Trust and spoke with local leaders, including senior representatives of Trafford Council, and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham. Ratcliffe was also among those in attendance at the Munich Air Disaster memorial earlier this month.