By Jake Stokes

Copyright manchestereveningnews

Sources close to Sir Jim Ratcliffe have responded to claims that Manchester United are in the process of a takeover. Earlier this week, Turki Al-Sheikh shared posts on social media that claimed the Reds were in ‘advanced negotiations with a new investor’ . According to Charlotte Dunker at The Times, United officials have been aback by the Saudi Arabian billionaire’s activity on X, formerly known as Twitter, claiming his reports were ‘news to them’. Speaking to Sky Sports , the journalist added that Ratcliffe and his INEOS staff don’t believe what Al-Sheikh said to be true either. On Wednesday night, the Saudi government official claimed that United were close to agreeing on a deal . With Ratcliffe having only recently acquired a minority stake, many speculated that the cryptic post was about the Glazers. On X, Al-Sheikh wrote: “The best news I heard today is that Manchester United is now in an advanced stage of completing a deal to sell to a new investor… I hope he’s better than the previous owners .” The Saudi billionaire, who owned Almeria from 2019 until earlier this year after they failed to secure promotion to the Spanish top-flight, shared the post with his seven million followers. It spread like wildfire, garnering an eye-watering number of views, likes and shares. Then, on Thursday evening, Al-Sheikh provided an update on the alleged negotiations. He wrote: “My yesterday’s post about Manchester United’s potential sale meant one thing: the club is in an advanced negotiation phase with a new investor. “Just to clarify, I am not the investor, nor are they from my nation. I’m posting this as a fan who wishes the deal to happen, though it might not necessarily happen.” On Sky Sports , Dunker explained why Ratcliffe could be left in the dark if the Glazers decided to cash in behind his back. The journalist said: “Now, obviously, because Jim Ratcliffe has that 30 per cent stake, that doesn’t mean the Glazers aren’t going to consider selling. “I think for the right price, they definitely would. There is a clause within Ratcliffe’s agreement when he bought the club – I think it was triggered in August this year – that meant if the right offer came in – I think it was over something like $33 a share – that the Glazers could sell the whole club. “Not just their portion of it, but Sir Ratcliffe will be bought out as well, so there is potential that the Glazers could sell the entire club, but, at the minute, this just seems like a strange one with all this news, this hype and this excitement that’s been triggered by this one tweet.” While Ratcliffe may be powerless, he’s shown no sign of walking away from United. Speaking recently on The Business podcast , produced by The Times and The Sunday Times, the British billionaire claimed that he remains in control of football operations at the club. When asked what would happen if the Glazers told him to sack Ruben Amorim, Ratcliffe said: “It’s not going to happen.” The INEOS boss, who has owned just under 30 per cent of United since February 2024, added: “That probably sums it up. We’re local and they’re the other side of the pond. “That’s a long way away to try and manage a football club as big and complex as Manchester United. We’re here with feet on the ground. They [the Glazers] get a bad rep… but they are really nice people and they are really passionate about the club.” Pointing to his long-term plan, the 72-year-old said: “Ruben needs to demonstrate he is a great coach over three years.” Asked if the United boss is given three years to transform fortunes, Ratcliffe replied: “Yes. That is where I would be. Three years. Because football is not overnight. It’s three years. “You also look at [Mikel] Arteta at Arsenal. He had a miserable time over the first couple of years. We have to be patient. We have a long-term plan. It isn’t a light switch. “You can’t run a club like Manchester United on knee-jerk reactions to some journalist who goes off on one every week…”