Man Utd fans can look forward to better times with ‘no bulls***’ Sir Jim Ratcliffe, says Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff
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MANCHESTER UNITED fans have been told that they can look forward to better times with “no bulls***” Sir Jim Ratcliffe by Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff.
Britain’s richest man has agreed a £1.35billion deal for a 25 per cent takeover of the Red Devils.
The 70-year-old's bid was initially expected to be given the green light in a board meeting this week after Sheikh Jassim withdrew from the race.
Despite a slight delay to that being confirmed, the Ineos chief wants to be granted control of football operations at United and is hoping to be in charge for the January transfer window.
Ratcliffe's INEOS company have already invested heavily in Formula One - via a third share of the Mercedes team - plus cycling, rugby and sailing.
And he also owns French football team Nice and Swiss side Laussane.
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Wolff, who holds a 33 per cent stake in Mercedes, was asked ahead of this week’s Austin F1 GP what Ratcliffe would bring to United.
And he provided plenty of positives to fed-up supporters who are sick of the Glazers being in charge.
The Austrian said: “Jim and his partners, they are first of all complementary.
“They are huge in terms of profit and decisions being made very quickly, three bullet points on a page and here we go.
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“With Jim, all the bulls*** is cut out and I think that wherever he gets his power and resource and character behind it I think that’s going to be an add on for any team.”
The Merc chief added: “He’s a Manchester boy. He has the resource that are needed, the heart in the right place for this team and I’m sure that he can be very creative for Manchester United.
“With us he’s been a fantastic shareholder and a good sounding board for myself.”
Ratcliffe is claimed to be an admirer of under-pressure United boss Erik ten Hag.
However, the futures of club chiefs Richard Arnold and John Murtough under Ratcliffe remain unclear.
The British tycoon still hopes to complete a full takeover one day of the Old Trafford giants and it is claimed that he wants clauses attached to his initial bid that lay the path for a future offer.
Before any deal with Ratcliffe goes through, the Glazer family possess 96 per cent of the voting rights on United's board, despite owning 69 per cent of the club.
But their voting rights are expected to be "diluted" following Ratcliffe's arrival.
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