Manchester United are currently embroiled in a tense takeover battle. Two groups, heading by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, are fighting it out to assume control of the Premier League giants, which the club’s sale valued at £6bn.
Before attempting to take over at Man United, Ratcliffe tried to buy “half of Barcelona”, according to a new book on the businessman (via Daily Mail).
Ratcliffe tried to make his move not long after Joan Laporta had been appointed President for the second time in 2021. In the book, he detailed his plans for Barcelona.
“They were planning to sell off the club’s television rights. We told them, “Don’t do it – we’ll put in two or three billion, renovate the Nou Camp and have 50% ownership – and sign a deed to say we’d never sell.
“Our interest was in football alone, not making money. I think it would have worked.”
The pair are said to held discussions, but it was ultimately ruled out because it would have been deemed “too political”, which Ratcliffe detailed.
“We talked about it but, in the end, they didn’t think they could go to the fans with it. The road they are going down is a disaster.
Ratcliffe also commented on Barcelona’s ways to raise funds over the last few years.
“They have now sold a chunk of the TV rights, and merchandising rights, for the next 25 years. They’ve sold them to American hedge funds. So they’ve got this big slug of cash, which they can now…waste”
Barcelona’s socios hold the majority of the power at the club, and there was a belief that they would have shot down Ratcliffe’s bid, despite the fact that it would have solved their severe financial issues, which are still continuing.
