- INEOS chief increases stake to 28.94 per cent
- Has made some unpopular decisions at Old Trafford
- Injection of funds intended to improve infrastructure
Getty/GOALSir Jim Ratcliffe increases Man Utd stake but £79m deal won’t boost Ruben Amorim’s transfer kitty for January window

Virgin Media
✅ Combines superfast home broadband and live Premier League broadcasting into a single household bill.
✅ Allows you to bolt TNT Sports onto an existing TV package on a 31-day rolling basis for around £25 a month.
✅ Broadband-only customers can use the free Stream box to add and drop the Sky Sports HD pack on a 30-day rolling basis.

EE
✅ The "Sport Plus" tier bundles both Sky Sports (via NOW) and TNT Sports into one seamless package to cover all 267 televised matches.
✅ Allows you to upgrade or downgrade your TV tier each month without breaking your 24-month broadband contract.
✅ Includes the Apple TV 4K or EE TV Box Pro for high-end viewing and easy multi-room streaming setups.

HBO Max
✅ Streams all 52 TNT Sports matches, making it the exclusive home for the early 12:30 pm Saturday fixtures.
✅ Provides exclusive coverage of select full midweek matchdays.
✅ Combines live Premier League football with premium HBO shows and Warner Bros movies in a single app ecosystem.

NOW
✅ Streams the entire Sky Sports Premier League catalogue over the internet to smart TVs and mobile devices without a satellite dish or installation wait.
✅ Offers 31-day rolling contracts (for £34.99/month) so you can cancel during the summer off-season.
✅ Offers 24-hour Day Memberships for £14.99 if you only want to watch a single specific derby or match.
Virgin Media
✅ Combines superfast home broadband and live Premier League broadcasting into a single household bill.
✅ Allows you to bolt TNT Sports onto an existing TV package on a 31-day rolling basis for around £25 a month.
✅ Broadband-only customers can use the free Stream box to add and drop the Sky Sports HD pack on a 30-day rolling basis.

EE
✅ The "Sport Plus" tier bundles both Sky Sports (via NOW) and TNT Sports into one seamless package to cover all 267 televised matches.
✅ Allows you to upgrade or downgrade your TV tier each month without breaking your 24-month broadband contract.
✅ Includes the Apple TV 4K or EE TV Box Pro for high-end viewing and easy multi-room streaming setups.
GettyWHAT HAPPENED?
Britain’s richest man paid around £1.2 billion ($1.5bn) for a 27.7 per cent share of the Red Devils in February 2024. As part of that deal, which was struck with the Glazer family, Ratcliffe agreed to pump £237m ($300m) worth of funding into United.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
It has now been revealed, in a filing listed on the US Securities and Exchange Commission, that Ratcliffe has increased his stake to 28.94 per cent with a £79m outlay. Official ownership of his shares has been transferred to the INEOS company – bringing United in line with his other sporting ventures.
AFPDID YOU KNOW?
According to the Daily Mail, the funds injected into United by Ratcliffe will not make their way to manager Ruben Amorim and efforts to bolster his squad at the turn of the year. Instead, they have been earmarked for improvements to club infrastructure.
TELL ME MORE
Ratcliffe and Co made approximately £200m ($253m) available to former United boss Erik ten Hag in the last transfer window, only to part with the Dutchman's services in October. Compensation there has cost the Red Devils £15m ($19m), while former sporting director Dan Ashworth is also being paid off after just five months in Manchester.
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?
United fans would have been hoping to see Amorim given more backing on the recruitment front, especially as Ratcliffe has implemented a number of unpopular decisions off the pitch – including ticket price hikes and the release of 250 staff members as part of sweeping cost-cutting measures.
ENJOYED THIS STORY?
Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting



