Manchester United takeover: Jim Ratcliffe 'formally' enters race

Manchester United is on the verge of getting sold. While the club has drawn extensive interest from potential bidders, British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is the first to publicly announce that his firm has "formally" entered the race.

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English giants Manchester United was put up for sale last November by its current owner, the Glazers family. Since then, it has been drawing extensive interest from potential buyers worldwide. While some fans hoped to receive a bid from British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a lifelong Red Devils fan, there was no confident interest from him. However, it was announced on Tuesday night that he and his firm have formally entered the takeover race. His firm INEOS is the first to go public with the announcement of its intention to bid, while the Brit had previously attempted to own rival Chelsea last year before Todd Boehly held it.

It must be noted that Ratcliffe is already an owner of the French club Nice. "We have formally put ourselves into the process," a spokesperson of INEOS confirmed to The Times.

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Ratcliffe is estimated to have a net worth of £12.7 billion as per Forbes, having earned massively since founding INEOS in 1998, a chemical company.

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Meanwhile, the Glazers are looking for a valuation of around £7 billion to sell United, with Raine Group handling the sale process.