British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe was spotted at Tottenham last week, but Manchester United remain his number one priority in his quest to own a top-flight English soccer club.
When the Glazers announced they were seeking a strategic investment for United, including the sale of all or part of the club, interest was piqued by some of the world’s richest people, including Ratcliffe.
The INEOS billionaire is a United fan since childhood and has made no secret of his desire to one day own the Red Devils.
Ratcliffe was a guest in the Tottenham Hotspur squad when the north London club played a 1-1 friendly with French club Nice.
The Lily Whites have done business with Ratcliffe before and recently announced that they had agreed to make INEOS the club’s lead vehicle partner.
Finance expert Dan Plumley spoke exclusively to Football Insider and suggested that while Ratcliffe may be interested in taking over at Tottenham, United is likely to remain his primary target.
“He ticks the box in terms of his profile and wealth. We know that he has shown interest in investing in football clubs in the past and in the present ”.
“He was promoted for the Chelsea deal a few months ago, but the biggest one for him is Man United.”
“He’s a Manchester United fan, so any involvement is really interesting in that regard because if, and it’s a big if, he ends up buying Manchester United in a sellout, where does that leave this deal with Spurs?”
Plumley added that Tottenham would represent a decent investment opportunity for the 70-year-old.
The finance guru commented that if the opportunity to acquire United slips away, any other club in the top six would be within Ratcliffe’s grasp.
Another top six club currently up for sale is Liverpool with FSG also looking to part ways with them.
