Less than 24-hours after Elon Musk trolled the internet by joking that he was going to by Manchester United, another potential buyer for the club has thrown their hat into the ring.
And apparently, this one is “serious” about it this time.
After a recent Bloomberg report suggested that Manchester United‘s current owners, The Glazer family, are willing to sell a minority stake in the club, and after South African-born business tycoon Musk, who is the CEO and owner of a handful of major companies like Tesla and SpaceX – and just so happens to be the richest man in the world, with a net worth of US$242 billion – took to Twitter this week to say that he wanted to get his hands on the club that was his “favourite as a kid”, another fan has come forward to say they’re also interested.
Failsworth-born billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is one of the richest men in Britain with a net worth of $7.18 billion (£5.96 billion), says he is “definitely a potential buyer” if the club is for sale.
The 69-year-old is not only the chairman and chief executive of chemical company, Ineos, but he also owns French Ligue 1 football team Nice, and Swiss club FC Lausanne-Sport, as well as Ineos Grenadiers cycling team, and an Ineos partnership with the Mercedes F1 team.
Crucially, he’s also a massive Manchester United fan.
🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to buy a stake in Manchester United, with a view to taking full control if the Glazers welcome new investment https://t.co/HXl2dIt6YA
A spokesperson for Ineos told The Times that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the company would be interested in purchasing a smaller stake, with a view to eventually buying the club.
“If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer,” the spokesperson said.
“If something like this was possible, we would be interested in talking with a view to long-term ownership.”
The spokesperson added that the company’s interest is “not about the money that has been spent or not spent”, explaining that 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.”
According to Bloomberg, preliminary discussions have been held about bringing in a new investor at Manchester United after what has been a rocky relationship between fans and owners since the Glazers’ takeover back in 2005, and also after what has been a pretty painful start to the 2022/23 season for the club and new manager Erik ten Hag, with two defeats putting them at the bottom of the Premier League table.
The clubs has very-prominently been in decline since Sir Alex Ferguson retired as manager in 2013, and there have been multiple protests against the Glazers’ ownership in recent years – including one in May 2021 which caused a match against Liverpool to be postponed, and several over the club’s involvement in the proposed European Super League.
The club’s net debt had also grown 11% to about £496 million by the end of March.
The Glazers have also been criticised for their handling of player transfers and contracts, as well as for not improving Old Trafford – which is the biggest club ground in the country with a capacity of around 74,000 fans.
Manchester United has declined to speak on rumours and speculation of potential new buyers.
Featured Image – INEOS (via YouTube)
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Pep Guardiola hints at when Manchester City fans can expect to see their latest arrival
Danny Jones
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has given supporters a rough timeline as to when they can expect to see their new signing, or at least their latest arrival, make his first appearance.
The Blues wrapped up the January transfer window with four major signings: their new attacking number seven, Omar Marmoush (who has already bagged a hattrick on his home debut) promising defensive duo, Abdukodir Khusanov and Brazilian Vitor Reis, as well as their ‘mini-Rodri’, Nico Gonzalez.
However, the club has had another late arrival who was technically signed back at the start of last year but who has spent for the last 12 months or so loaned back to his previous parent club, River Plate in Argentina, waiting to make the move over to the Etihad Stadium – and now he’s here in Manchester.
Speaking on his touchdown in 0161, Pep said Claudio Echeverri won’t be thrown into first-team action straight away but did give a rough estimate as to when City fans could expect him to get involved. You can see him discussing the integration plan in his post-match press conference following the Spurs win.
The mention was only brief but there’s still plenty of reason for Man City fans to be excited by the late January signing.
“Yeah, he [Claudio Echeverri] is going to start to train and mainly will be for the end of the season, maybe the [Club] World Cup and as soon as possible [that] he arrives he can adapt quick for the future.”
As mentioned, the 19-year-old Argentinian attacking midfielder from Resistencia officially put pen to paper with CFG back in January 2024 and was quickly dubbed ‘the next Messi’.
Now, although the football world is often quick to jump the gun with these things and he isn’t the first and certainly won’t be last to be slapped with this premature title, he’s done more to back up these claims since then than he has rubbish them.
Starring at the 2025 Under-20 South American Championships, netting six goals in nine games to finish the tournament as the second highest scorer thanks to notable braces against Brazil and Uruguay as the young Argentine’s finished as runners up.
He also notched 48 senior appearances for River Plate thus far, netting four goals and grabbing eight assists in that time, not to mention having already captained his national team at the 2023 Under 17s World Cup, where he scored another five.
Safe to say there’s plenty of talent to be tapped in this lad.
Once again, Echeverri won’t go straight into the senior set-up for a little while yet, barring a major injury crisis, but he’ll be a more than exciting addition to the City Football Academy and for future first-team lineups for years to come.
Who knows, maybe he’ll be included in an FA Cup matchday squad? Nevertheless, you can expect him to not just come of the bench but hopefully show what he can do at the Club World Cup this summer.
City‘s first fixture as reigning champions of the competition will be against Moroccan side Wydad AC on 18 June 2025.
You can watch Echeverri’s first full interview as a Man City player down below:
The new Man City signing is excited to be finally be part of the club 13 months on from agreeing his contract.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025
Emily Sergeant
Rochdale has officially been named Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2025.
Taking over the reins from Bolton – which held the title in 2024 – and following in the footsteps of Stockport before that, which held the title in 2023, and even hosted a massive ‘Town of Culture Weekender’ festival with 50+ free events to celebrate and bring its title year to a close, it’s now the turn of the north-eastern Greater Manchester borough of Rochdale.
Rochdale’s year will build on the town’s already-rich cultural history and international reputation as the home of the co-operative movement.
More than 35 arts organisations will be bringing together an ambitious programme of festivals, exhibitions, events, and performances throughout the year.
Unfamiliar with what the ‘Greater Manchester Town of Culture’ title is all about? It’s an accolade that’s handed out every year to different boroughs across the region.
Bury was the inaugural title-holder 2020 and held onto it in 2021 too due to the COVID pandemic, before being followed by Stalybridge in 2022, Stockport in 2023, and of course, Bolton in the year just gone.
The title celebrates Greater Manchester’s culture and heritage.
As well as getting a new title to shout about, it also sees the towns given a grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) culture fund to help develop a programme of cultural events and activities throughout the year.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025 / Credit: The Manc Group | Rochdale Council
In Rochdale’s case, you can expect the ‘very best local talent’, as this year is promising to put ‘people power’ centre stage, with residents helping to plan, develop, and deliver a lineup of creative activities, alongside a number of major events.
This includes the popular free days out for families, an exciting new urban arts festival, two different food and drink festivals, a lantern parade, the Ignite Fire Festival, a Pride parade, and so much more.
You can also expect live music performances, a new people’s gallery, and even some major international collaborations that are yet to be announced.
Rochdale is taking over the reins from Bolton, which held the title in 2024 / Credit: Rochdale Council
“Rochdale is a place with a rich cultural history, so it is great to name it Greater Manchester’s town of culture as it’s town hall and town centre enter a new era,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as the borough was crowned this week.
“Rochdale submitted a fantastic bid for this which, was incredibly exciting and ambitious, while being firmly rooted in its local talent and deep history.
Emily Sergeant -
18th August 2022 
