Revealed: Mercedes F1 part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s commitment to Man Utd

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the part-owner of the Mercedes F1 team, is reportedly prepared to commit £245m ($300m) of his personal wealth to improve Manchester United Football Club’s ageing infrastructure.

Lewis Larkam

03 Nov 2023

Jim Ratcliffe (GBR) Chief Executive Officer of Ineos / Mercedes AMG F1 Shareholder on the grid. Formula 1 World — Jim Ratcliffe (GBR) Chief Executive Officer of Ineos / Mercedes AMG F1…

The INEOS petrochemicals empire owned by Ratcliffe is set to purchase a 25% stake in Manchester United from the Glazer family for £1.3 billion.

Ratcliffe plans to pile fresh investment into the club for infrastructure upgrades via staggered payments, according to Sky News.

The report added that the money would be financed personally by Ratcliffe, who is Britain’s second-richest man, according to the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List.

Through his INEOS company, the 71-year-old owns a third of the Mercedes F1 team.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has already backed Ratcliffe to make a major difference at Manchester United.

“Jim and his partners, they are first of all complementary,” Wolff said. “They are huge in terms of profit and decisions being made very quickly.

“Three bullet points on a page and ‘here we go’.

“With Jim, all the bulls*** is cut out. I think that, wherever he gets his power and resource and character behind it, I think that’s going to be an add-on for any team.

“He’s a Manchester boy. He has the resources that are needed, the heart in the right place for this team and I’m sure that he can be very creative for Manchester United.

“With us he’s been a fantastic shareholder and a good sounding board for myself.”