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Michael Knighton has confirmed he is “stalking” Sir Jim Ratcliffe as he tries to pry Glazer away from Manchester United. The businessman, who came close to buying the club in 1989, formed a consortium in the hope of persuading the Americans to sell it. Calls for Joel and Avram Glazer to leave the club are growing again, especially after Saturday’s horrific 4-0 defeat by Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Knighton recently revealed he wants to buy United.
And now, speaking to The United Stand, the businessman has revealed his plans and admitted he has been ‘pursuing’ Ratcliffe in the hope the 69-year-old can help his consortium’s scheme.
“The reason I’m going after people like Jim Ratcliffe is because he’s got the resources, he’s a Manchester boy originally, he claims to be a Man United fan, and I believe he is,” he said.
“If I can get Jim Ratcliffe out and bring him to Old Trafford, my job is done.
“I want people like Jim Ratcliffe to join the consortium. There are people who are much richer than me. I certainly don’t have the funds to buy Manchester United.
“We have to be taken seriously as a whole fan group because, really, it’s a fan bid and I’ve been working behind the scenes, getting people to make a hostile bid and say, ‘look, here’s the money,’ which of course will refuse.
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“But if we can say we have the support of the global fanbase, we have a chance.”
When asked if the bid could be successful without Ratcliffe, Knighton added: “We can certainly launch a bid, but even my consortium as a collective doesn’t have the resources of Jim Ratcliffe.
“There’s no arguing about that. Jim is the richest man in Britain, he is a football fan (and) he is a good person.
“When he was bidding for Chelsea you could tell because he is heavily involved in London (with) his amazing company Ineos, which is a world leader in the chemical petrol industry.
“He came out publicly and said: ‘I don’t need to take money from Chelsea or any football club because I make enough money from the chemical petrol business that I have.’
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“That was music to any fan’s ears, so obviously we would welcome Jim Ratcliffe.
“Of course, everyone needs a Jim Ratcliffe, because Jim is the real deal!
“He is the man who can take our great football club back to where it needs to be.
“I’m not in that league. I’m not even in the league of some of the people I’ve been able to get around the table.”
Knighton was also keen to stress that his hostile takeover plans were not personal against Glazer.
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“It’s not personal against Glazer,” he said. “We just think there’s a different and better model.
“That’s all in Michael Knighton’s offer. It’s not about Michael Knighton.
“I can show you emails from the last 20 years. I turned down hundreds of TV (and) hundreds of radio interviews.
“It’s not about Michael Knighton. It is about saving the club from the current ownership. That’s what it’s about. That’s it, and I can’t do it without the world.
“We need every Manchester United fan around the world to support this bid. You are right. This is a hostile bid. The club is not for sale.
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“The Glazer family will probably refuse and refuse, but if we can come forward and say we have 30 million Manchester United fans and key sponsors on our side. You’ve run out of ways. The time is here and now and you must go.
“We have a chance to give the current owners an opportunity to say, ‘you know what, we’ve got our 2.5 billion or 3 billion in net profit and we’re going to walk away.’ That’s my intention.”
“John Guba…has seen the evidence of the people I deal with. We’re talking billions of pounds.
“This is not my money. Yes, I threw a little, but I’m just not at that level (of wealth).
“But I was able to bring these people together. I had the ability to make them promise.”
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