Manchester United fans could be about to get achieve their wish of having an owner who cares about the club, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe among those bidding to take a majority stake in Manchester United.
In November, the Glazers said they were considering selling the club as they "explore strategic alternatives", which could also have included new investment.
Tabling his bid through his Ineos company, multi-billionaire Ratcliffe is a life-long Manchester United fan who actually watched the team achieve their greatest-ever triumph, with his potential takeover exciting fans as a result.
Born and raised in Failsworth, a town in Greater Manchester, Ratcliffe grew up a Manchester United fan during his childhood. Indeed, the Ineos founder watched Sir Matt Busby's team in action at Old Trafford on a regular basis.
As a teenager he would've seen the club win the 1968 European Cup final 4-1 against Benfica as well, though not in person at Wembley.
However, as a 46-year-old, Ratcliffe was in attendance for Manchester United's historic 1999 Champions League final at Camp Nou, arguably the greatest night in the club's history.
Losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the 90th minute, Manchester United came from behind to score two stoppage time goals through Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, earning the club their third major trophy of the season.
Ratcliffe has previously spoken of that moment, watching on from the stands while discussing his fandom for the side.
"I was born in Manchester, it’s my team," Ratcliffe said. "I was at the Champions League final in 1999, when we won [2-1] at the last minute against Bayern Munich. This is my most extraordinary football memory, we should never have won before these three crazy minutes."
He also described it as “three minutes you never forget in your lifetime”.
As part of the statement released by Ineos confirming its bid in Manchester United, Ratcliffe's support of the club is clearly evident.
"We would see our role as the long-term custodians of Manchester United on behalf of the fans and the wider community," the statement read.
"We are ambitious and highly competitive and would want to invest in Manchester United to make them the number one club in the world once again.
"We want a Manchester United anchored in its proud history and roots in the North West of England, putting the Manchester back into Manchester United and clearly focusing on winning the Champions League."
