has christmas come early for manchester united fans or not? a deal is finally agreed for british billionaire sirjim ratcliffe to buy a stake in the club. no festive joy for chelsea beaten for the eighth time in the premier league this season but it s all smiles for wolves. and rangers win at motherwell to close in on cetlic and the top of the scottish premierhship. welcome along, thank you forjoining us. so much for a quiet sporting christmas eve. it s been announced in the last few hours that british billionaire sirjim ratcliffe has agreed to buy a 25% worth a little over £1.25 billion in manchester united. the news comes over a year after the club s owners, the glazers, stated they were considering selling. ratcliffe s ineos group will take control of united s football operations and provide over £230 million in future investement into old trafford. our sports editor dan roan reports. when sirjim ratcliffe toured old trafford earlier this year, the british billion
so, we have been waiting for this for a long time. how much of a surprise as this? i for a long time. how much of a surprise as this? for a long time. how much of a surprise as this? i think that this is the christmas surprise as this? i think that this is the christmas present - surprise as this? i think that this is the christmas present that - surprise as this? i think that this| is the christmas present that lots of manchester united fans would have wanted. you pose the question how big of a surprise. this deal has been potentially 13 months in the making, there have been times we have been told it was imminent, that would happen a week from now, two weeks from now, and it hasn t done so. so perhaps a surprise and not as a prize at the same time. sarahjim ratcliffe, one of the richest men in britain, a boyhood manchester united fan, has acquired a 25% minority share in the club. i think the important part of the statement is that his ineos group will be in charge of fo
has christmas come early for manchester united fans? a deal is finally agreed for british billionaire sirjim ratcliffe to buy a stake in the club. no festive joy for chelsea, beaten for the eighth time in the premier league this season, but it s all smiles for wolves. and rangers win at motherwell to close in on cetlic at the top of the scottish premierhship. welcome along, thank you forjoining us. so much for a quiet sporting christmas eve. it s been announced in the last few hours that british billionaire sirjim ratcliffe has agreed to buy a 25% stake worth a little over £1.25 billion in manchester united. the news comes over a year after the club s owners, the glazers, stated they were considering selling. ratcliffe s ineos group will take control of united s football operations and provide over £230 million in future investement into old trafford. our sports editor dan roan reports. when sirjim ratcliffe toured old trafford earlier this year, the british billionaire
here s our sports editor dan roan. when sirjim ratcliffe toured old trafford earlier this year, the british billionaire was hoping to buy manchester united. instead, he ll become a minority shareholder of the club he says he s always supported. the founder of petrochemicals giant ineos, ratcliffe s already invested in sailing and cycling teams and owns a third of mercedes in formula 1. the owner of two football clubs, including nice in france, manchester born ratcliffe last year failed in a bid to buy chelsea, some would argue you should be trying to buy the club that you grew up supporting. yes, i mean, i can understand that but manchester united s not for sale. with its rich history. they were supreme soccer champions of europe. legendary players. ca nto na! and dominance under managerial great sir alex ferguson, united became a commercial powerhouse with a global fan base. but since 2005 been owned by the glazer family and after years of protests by fans unhappy with the c