As business transactions go, it really was the deal of the century.
In taking a 27.7 per cent stake in Manchester United two years ago, Sir Jim Ratcliffe lined the Glazer family pockets with over £700m in cold, hard cash, agreed to fund some vital improvements himself, all while still leaving the much-maligned American overlords the majority stakeholders.
And that is not all. What makes this deal the gold standard, one that should be talked about in Havard lecture halls, is that by publicly declaring they would take control of the football operations at Old Trafford, Ineos and Ratcliffe simultaneously agreed to shoulder the blame for future, and inevitable, decline, almost absolving the Glazers in the process.
Several advisors who worked on the deal told The i Paper that this was always part of the plan. Ever since the Glazers’ takeover in 2005, the vitriol has headed in one direction only.
When Ratcliffe expressed an interest, part of the proposal had to be a willingness to absorb some responsibility for further failure. Sunday’s protests only solidified the Glazers lofty position of ultimate power.
Fan group “The 1958” meticulously planned a march ahead of Fulham’s visit, insisting this would be the biggest protest yet, with numbers topping 5,000, dwarfing any previous gatherings.
For the first time, Ratcliffe and Ineos were included in the messaging ahead of the latest event.
Supporters still want the Glazers gone, but it was the Manchester-born shareholder who is the one who “doesn’t know what he is doing”. Some donned clown masks to emphasise how the club has become a circus under Ratcliffe’s stewardship.
Will the message have got across the pond? And do the Glazers even care? There was even acceptance among organisers that attempts to make their voices heard will never break through. Not enough to make any lasting difference, anyway.
“We want Ratcliffe to listen to us,” Steve Crompton from The 1958 tells The i Paper.
“What this bloke’s doing is destroying the culture, destroying fan culture. He’s pricing fans out. I’ve looked this morning at tickets available for the Villa game and there isn’t a ticket for less than 300 quid. It’s disgusting.
“Football in general is heading the wrong way. The Americanisation of the sport is happening in front of our eyes, and it’s how it stopped, I don’t know. It’ll be like Disneyland here with this new stadium design, Jim’s vanity project.
“If there is a big turnout then yes, we’ll look at upping the ante. But let’s be realistic. We have people clamouring for an empty Old Trafford.
“What good will that do? You won’t even notice it. People need to take a stance.”
As the protesters got to the meeting point where the angst was supposed to really boil over, those in green and gold mingled into the queues for the club megastore and dispersed. Greater Manchester Police said afterwards 500 or 600 took part, with no arrests made. Take that, Joel and Avram.
The Glazer brothers are the most heavily involved, with the other family board members remaining in the shadows. Senior figures at the club insist they are more active than supporters realise.
Upon Ratcliffe’s initial investment, the structure that was put in place was never going to last – with Ratcliffe, Joel Glazer and Sir Dave Brailsford overseeing football operations, with a chief executive and sporting director to come in and work under them.
In reality, once chief executive Omar Berrada, sporting director Jason Wilcox and chief finance officer Marc Armstrong had been appointed – the supposed “best in the class” – it was then always going to be run like the business a global sporting behemoth always would be.
Ratcliffe has his own enterprises to run, as do the Glazers. There is a Glazer family member at every meeting between United board members, however, meetings that tend to happen every month. Largely in Monaco or London.
It was Avram and Joel’s decision to switch the venue of the latest meet-up to Carrington to speak with Michael Carrick upon his appointment – a key show of support, and a reminder who is really in charge.
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Details around the Glazers’ movements are otherwise difficult to obtain as, 21 years in, they still remain frustratingly silent. Even recently-departed staff, of which there are many, all had to sign non-disclosure agreements as part of their exit, only adding to the maddening lack of accountability or structural understanding.
Berrada and Wilcox’s silence this season, in the wake of Ruben Amorim’s departure especially, only heightened the irritation. All of which just plays more into the Glazers’ hands, safe and sound thousands of miles away.
The deal of the century, even if events on the pitch aren’t improving much, just keeps getting better and better.
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