Almost a year after the Glazers announced they were putting Manchester United up for sale, a deal for one of Britain’s richest men is close to being signed later this week.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe will pay €1.5 billion for a 25% stake in Manchester United

Despite Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani’s offer of almost €7 billion for full control of the club, he withdrew his intention to buy the English club on Saturday. T

lost, it will be sold, but not in full, but as a percentage of 25% to British billionaire Jim Ratchliff.

His company Ineos will take full control of Manchester United’s football operations after its bid is approved by the board of directors later this week, according to the Daily Mail.

A die-hard United fan since his youth, Ratcliffe will pay around €1.5bn for a quarter of the club’s shares, the first step towards a full phased takeover.

He has vowed to return the team to its former glory in an attempt to appease fans anxious to see the club rid itself of the Glazer family.

Manchester United are not the only Premier League club Ratcliffe has tried to buy, the billionaire was also interested in Chelsea last year before Roman Abramovich sold the London club to Todd Boley for £2.5bn.

In 2020, Jim Ratchliff was the 2nd richest Briton with a net worth of £23 billion.