"Please save the club", "We want our club back" - Manchester United fans plead with Britain's richest man after takeover bid is launched from Michael Knighton
Manchester United fans have started a social media campaign to convince Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is Britain's richest man, to take over the club.
According to The Mirror, businessman Michael Knighton has announced he is planning to purchase the club from the Glazer family. Knighton famously tried to buy Manchester United in 1989 before the deal ultimately fell through.
The businessman has revealed that he is hoping to lead a consortium that will also feature Ratcliffe, who owns chemical powerhouse Ineos. According to Bloomberg, Ratcliffe is worth $6.86 billion.
Michael Knighton has been outlining his plans to get rid of the Glazer family @ManUtd https://t.co/1zPzH0Su9Z
Ratcliffe owns incredibly successful cycling and sailing teams and has also invested heavily in the Mercedes F1 team. He also completed a €100 million takeover of Ligue 1 side OGC Nice in 2019 and attempted to buy Chelsea earlier this year. However, Ratcliffe ultimately missed out on owning the two-time European champions.
With Knighton promising a 'hostile' takeover of the Red Devils, the Old Trafford fanbase appear incredibly excited by the prospect as they want to get rid of the current owners as soon as possible.
Under the Glazers, Manchester United have slumped into a malaise of terrible signings, woeful performances on the pitch and consistently bad decisions from upstairs. Many supporters took to Twitter to greet the news of the British consortium's interest with much delight.
Here are some of the reactions:
#MUFC
Please save the club Sir Jim Ratcliffe 🙏 #MUFC https://t.co/KZu5zcSg95
Save us, Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Michael Knighton has made it clear. He waits for Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Manchester United fans and Legends…
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is who you must get the attention of. This is it. His serious attention. 🔴🚨
#MUFC #GlazersSellManUtd #GlazersOut https://t.co/R7b0srkNj2
#GlazersSellManUtd #GlazersOutNOW enough is enough we want our club back. It’s time to sell the club to people that care about the fans and won’t run it like a business sell to Michael Knighton and Sir Jim Ratcliffe https://t.co/X1zWrmeE7V
Saw some people taking the piss because Mr Knighton is only worth £7million. However, he is only part of the consortium which will be mainly be driven by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, worth £12.7billion. https://t.co/dCAzLPbQqj
I don’t know about the Michael Knighton alleged consortium but he himself says he’s waiting for Sir Jim Ratcliffe to show his hand.
I don’t think he would have mentioned him in an interview if he didn’t think the possibility was there.
Anyone got Sir Jim Ratcliffe's number? Just need to ask him something real quick.
Michael Knighton preparing 'hostile' takeover bid for Manchester United
Many will remember Knighton's bizarre attempts to buy one of the world's biggest football entities for a tiny fraction of what the club is worth today.
However, that has not stopped many buying into his vision and allowing themselves to get excited by the prospect of seeing the Glazer empire toppled. The eccentric British businessman told Man Utd the Religion on YouTube (as quoted by The Mail):
"We are a club in crisis and we all know the reason why. We have an inept and frankly useless ownership who know little about this game of football. Everyone knows that we need new ownership of this football club and that is my aim and those are my objectives. I am making good progress, continuing to talk to the people."
"I have got some good pledges and good finance. We are now working on the offer document. Remember, it is a hostile bid - that simply means that the club isn't officially for sale. But my intention is to present these owners with a legitimate, potent and commercial offer to say: 'You have run out of road, it's time go because your time is up."
Sir Alex Ferguson and Michael Knighton (1990’s) https://t.co/JFdpJUGjCS