Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he ‘trusts’ the Glazers after Manchester United negotiations

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has told fans that he trusts the Glazer family after talks regarding his 25 per cent acquisition of the Old Trafford club.

Manchester United are set to enter a new era after Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s 25 per cent acquisition of the club has led to INEOS taking full sporting control at Old Trafford.

The process that led to the Christmas Eve announcement lasted just under 13 months, with a race between Ratcliffe and Qatari businessman Shiekh Jassim ending in 25% going to the British billionaire.

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According to The Athletic, Ratcliffe recently told fans that during this process, he learned to build trust with the club’s majority owners, the Glazer family, despite them being wholly unpopular figures among United’s faithful.

The report explained that, while meeting with fan representatives last week, he explained while he knows that saying words of support about the Glazers may not land well with a set of fans that are so avidly against them, he said that he did have respect for his new business partners.

Ratcliffe also acknowledged that the club have performed poorly over the last decade or so since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson.

He mentioned that he had established trust with the Glazers over numerous meetings spanning the year-long negotiation process. Their relationship has since become robust, even to the extent that the legal agreement concerning his investment has been metaphorically stored away and will not be revisited – the chapter of the legal negotiations has closed.

Ratcliffe and INEOS’ impact on the club has been clear and immediate, with the exit of Richard Arnold as the club’s old CEO and the entrance of Omar Berrada, formerly Chief Football Operations Officer of the immensely successful City Football Group.

The additions of Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc to the United sporting board and a further two to the PLC board as INEOS representatives have only further cemented their status and power within the club.

Although Ratcliffe has refused to confirm his intentions, many speculate that this 25 per cent acquisition is the first step in a series of events that will eventually lead to Ratcliffe owning the majority of the club.