Could Lewis Hamilton and Sir Jim Ratcliffe buy Manchester United?
Ratcliffe is an equal one-third owner of the Mercedes F1 team, alongside Daimler and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. Wolff's 33% stake explains why his personal net worth exceeds Hamilton's net worth.
The British billionaire has expressed interest in Manchester United, whose current owners, the Glazer family, aren’t liked by the current fan base.
Growing tension between Manchester United supporters and the Glazers has led to a rife of speculation about them selling the club, particularly after their initial poor start to the season, although they’ve turned it around in recent matches.
“If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer,” Ratcliffe’s spokesperson told The Times.
“If something like this was possible, be would be interested in talking with a view to long-term ownership.
“This is not about the money that has been spent or not spent, Jim is looking at what can be done now and, knowing how important the club is to the city, it feels like the time is right for a reset.”
Given Hamilton’s close relationship with Ratcliffe, ahead of the F1 Dutch Grand Prix, he was asked whether he’d want to be involved in a potential Manchester United takeover.
“It’s the first time I’ve heard of it, so I haven’t had time to catch up with Jim since I was in Namibia, which I need to do because he goes to Namibia quite often,” Hamilton said. “Jim’s part boss but partner - I’d say we’re more partners because we’re in this together, and I hope in future to do something with Jim and build with him. I don’t know where that will be or what that will be, so I can’t really say.
“I haven’t had a call from him asking if I want to be involved in that just yet. But I do want to get more and more involved in teams because I really do believe in black ownership, there is a lack of it in sports. And black equity, again, there is a real lack of that.”
Hamilton is currently part of the ownership group of the Denver Broncos (NFL team) and was involved in Chelsea FC’s recent takeover with Tennis legend, Serena Williams.
“When I do get involved, just for example with the Broncos, I really want to try and focus on what I can do in terms of D&I within the team and within the infrastructure and the surroundings in terms of the stadium and homes that you end up building when you do eventually get a new stadium and all of those sorts of things. So it’s super exciting the potential that there is there,” Hamilton added.
