Sir Jim Ratcliffe still ‘very keen’ on Man Utd takeover as battle with Qataris to purchase club from Glazers drags on

Sir Jim Ratcliffe remains “very keen” on completing a takeover at Manchester United despite a protracted saga dragging on, says Sir Dave Brailsford.When the Glazer family opened themselves up to offers for the Premier League heavyweights, the expectation was that a deal would be pushed through relatively quickly – allowing long-term plans to be put in place. That has not been the case, with Ratcliffe caught up in a long-running battle for power with Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani. Over 240 days have now passed since the Glazers vowed to “explore strategic alternatives” at Old Trafford, with no deal done, but Brailsford – the former head of British Cycling and Team Sky who is now director of sport with Ineos – claims that interest remains in the Ratcliffe camp.Brailsford has told ITV Sport: “Obviously we’ve been involved and it’s something that we’re very keen to do. It’s not something we can discuss in detail, we’ve got to sign up to NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) and all the rest of it. But it’s an ongoing process and we’d very much like to do it. To be custodians of one of the biggest sporting teams, brands, in the world and trying to really support the team and go back to the success they deserve. And also the fan base. I’ve worked in Manchester for a long time, we saw the team become a global phenomenon, Team Sky have done the same. I know Manchester really well so you get a sense of what the club is all about and what the fans want. If we’re part of the process, we hope to do that.”Ratcliffe, who already owns Ligue 1 side Nice, launched a failed attempt to take control of Chelsea in 2022 – with the Blues eventually falling into the hands of the Todd Boehly-led consortium.Ratcliffe, who is Britain’s richest man, was a boyhood United supporter and is said to have an offer on the table of between £5-5.5 billion for the Red Devils – while agreeing to let Joel and Avram Glazer retain some shares in the club – but that bid falls short of the £6bn ($7.7bn) valuation that has been in place for some time.