According to press reports, the American Glazer family, which has controlled the club since 2005, is considering selling a minority stake in the capital of the Premier League club, currently 20th and last in the standings after two days.
Quoted by the daily The Times, the spokesman for Ineos indicates that Jim Ratcliffe, often presented as the richest man in Great Britain, is ready to buy a minority share, "if it proves possible", in order to prepare, "in the long term", a total takeover of Old Trafford.
This statement comes on the evening of a day marked by the untimely intrusion, via his Twitter account, of the billionaire Elon Musk in this file.
The boss of Tesla and SpaceX initially hinted that he was going to buy Manchester United.
Before specifying, a few hours later: "No, it's a joke (...). I have no plans to buy any sports club."
The Glazer family invested in the English club in 2005 but have often been criticized since, or accused of using it as a cash cow instead of investing in players or the renovation of the Old Trafford stadium.
She supported the stillborn project of a closed European Super League last April.
Manchester United have not won the Premiership title since 2013, nor a major trophy since 2017.
Ratcliffe, a staunch Manchester United fan, tried last spring to buy London club Chelsea, but was defeated in the final stretch by the consortium gathered around American businessman Todd Boehly.
Ineos already owns two European clubs, OGC Nice in the French Ligue 1 and FC Lausanne-Sport in Switzerland.
The group also has a leading cycling team (ex-Sky), and also sponsors the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
© 2022 AFP