Sheikh Jassim already outlined MU takeover proposal as Ratcliffe delivers update

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has spoken out about his first couple of years as a Manchester United co-owner, with some perhaps wondering what might have materialised under Sheikh Jassim

Sir Jim Ratcliffe's tenure as Manchester United co-owner hasn't delivered the immediate triumph many supporters anticipated it would. However, the British billionaire has outlined the long-term foundations established under his leadership, which he believes will bear fruit in the future.

Ineos supremo Ratcliffe, 72, received the green light to acquire nearly 30% of United's shares for £1.3billion in December 2023 after an extensive bidding war. Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, son of Qatar's former emir, was reportedly his primary competitor during the process.

The absence of instant results under Ratcliffe's leadership may have prompted some supporters to ponder what could have transpired had Sheikh Jassim triumphed with his offer instead. Nevertheless, the Qatari businessman had previously revealed his objectives while vying for ownership.

In a declaration issued during the bidding battle, Jassim and his representatives outlined their primary goals for rejuvenating the club. Their vision centred predominantly on upgrading facilities to state-of-the-art levels, while emphasising the acquisition would carry no debt burden.

"The bid plans to return the club to its former glories," they said in a statement. "The bid will be completely debt free, via Sheikh Jassim's Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the club supports.

"The vision of the bid is for Manchester United to be renowned for footballing excellence, and regarded as the greatest football club in the world."

In many ways, Sheikh Jassim's ambitions and what Ratcliffe has aimed to achieve at United align remarkably well so far. Ratcliffe wasted little time implementing his own blueprint for modernising United's infrastructure, including a £50million overhaul of the Carrington training ground.

Upgrades to the training facilities had already begun before Ratcliffe's arrival at the club. Nevertheless, the dated amenities had been recognised as problematic for quite some time, with Cristiano Ronaldo publicly slamming the club's inaction on this matter following his return for a second spell.

Proposals for a new 100,000-capacity stadium are also progressing, with Ratcliffe leading those discussions. Sheikh Jassim, who favoured purchasing United completely rather than acquiring just a stake, is also believed to have harboured plans to upgrade the matchday venue.

Then there's the significant issue of player recruitment, with United investing more than £400m in the squad since Ratcliffe's takeover. This represents one investment area that can genuinely deliver immediate results, though Ratcliffe emphasised the importance of patience during a recent interview on The Times' Business podcast.

"There are two halves to a football team - there is the business side and the sports side," he declared on the podcast's debut episode, which went live on Thursday. "The biggest correlation, like it or not, between results and any external factor - is profitability. The more cash you have got, the better squad you can build.

"It's like a Formula 1 car - the better car you can build, the quicker you go. The better your squad, the better your football should be. So a lot of what we have done in the first year is spend an awful lot of time putting the club on a sustainable, healthy footing.

"If you look at our results for last year we have the highest revenues ever. Profitability, the second highest ever. We're not seeing all the benefits of the restructuring that we've done in this set of results, and we were not in the Champions League. Those numbers will get better. Manchester United will become the most profitable football club in the world, in my view, and from that will stem, I hope, a long-term, sustainable, high level of football."