Manchester United have announced INEOS Group chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe will buy a 25 per cent stake in the club.
Here the PA news agency takes a look at some of the key questions following the £236million deal.
What does it mean for the club’s ownership?
In the short-term, not much, given the Glazer family are still majority shareholders.
However, under the agreement, INEOS has accepted a request by the board to be delegated responsibility “for the management of the club’s football operations”.
This is set to include “all aspects” of both the men’s and women’s teams as well as the academies. Just how Ratcliffe and the INEOS Group will implement those on a day-to-day basis remains to be seen – which has already been highlighted by the Manchester United Supporters Trust.
So when will the INEOS Group start their new job?
Detailed and complicated discussions have been going on for some time – but the announcement on Christmas Eve does not mean everything has been signed off.
United’s statement noted the deal was still “subject to customary regulatory approvals” which is expected to take some time.
The process must be ratified by the Premier League and also an official announcement made via the New York Stock Exchange.
Given the Christmas and New Year holidays, there have been suggestions it could take up to six weeks for changes to the club’s ownership to be established with all the relevant parties – which would come right in the middle of a key January transfer window.
What changes are their likely to be in the boardroom?
Lifelong United supporter Ratcliffe will bring with him plenty of sports administration experience – from owning French Ligue 1 side Nice, the INEOS Grenadiers elite cycling team, the Britannia sailing team fronted by Sir Ben Ainslie as well as a holding in Formula One with Mercedes.
Along with structural change, it is expected Ratcliffe will look to bring in some fresh personnel.
Sir Dave Brailsford, former performance director for British Cycling and current director of sport for INEOS, is reported to be in line for a key role at Old Trafford – as is INEOS Sport chief executive Jean-Claude Blanc, who has also held key positions with Juventus and Paris St. Germain.
Manchester United’s director of football, currently John Murtough, is another role which has been suggested could be under review once the INEOS deal is formally approved.
So what about manager Erik ten Hag?
United suffered a 13th defeat of a so-far uninspiring campaign when beaten 2-0 at West Ham on Saturday – the most they have lost before Christmas since 1931.
Despite being well off the pace in the Premier League and failing to reach the knockout stage of the Champions League, Dutchman ten Hag insists he can turn things around again.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has vowed to return United to “the very top of English, European and world football” – which means results will either have to improve or INEOS could well implement some of that “delegated responsibility” in the dugout.
What else will be on the ‘to-do’ list?
As well as refurbishing the debt-laden club’s infrastructure under the agreement, INEOS will inject £158m (USD 200m) to upgrade Old Trafford.
The on-going renovations are much needed – with reports of roof leaks and a feeling of out-dated concourses which leaves United behind many of their Premier League rivals (not to mention over at the Etihad Stadium).
Ratcliffe’s pledge to see United competing with the best on the pitch again is also not likely to come cheap in the transfer market or be a quick fix – and neither will be unifying the fanbase once again on the back of what MUST feel has been “18 years of debt, decay and mismanagement”.
St. Louis City v LA Galaxy: Reus sets sights on silverware after dream start
Marco Reus is desperate to bring silverware to the LA Galaxy after making a flying start to his time in MLS, with St. Louis City the destination for his first road game on Sunday.
Reus registered a goal and an assist on debut last week as the Galaxy beat Atlanta United 2-0, maintaining their grip on top spot in the Western Conference.
The Galaxy are five points clear of local rivals Los Angeles FC at the top of the standings ahead of Sunday's trip to St. Louis, who are 13th and 10 points adrift of the playoff picture.
Reus' arrival in Los Angeles has caused plenty of fanfare, but he is focused solely on the team's collective aims.
"It's not about me, it's about the team," he said. "We want to be champions. So we take it game by game.
"Besides the traffic, it's really amazing. The people are so friendly. The weather, it's really nice. When you wake up in the morning and the sun is shining, you start the day differently.
"So I'm really, really happy every morning I come into the dressing room. I'm just happy and excited."
St. Louis played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with the Portland Timbers last week, twice throwing away a two-goal lead to leave interim coach John Hackworth bewildered.
"Really don't know what to say," Hackworth said. "It's hard to imagine coming to a place like this and scoring four goals, being up, and then just losing one-versus-one defensive battles.
"Sometimes, the number of goals you give up, or the number of goals you score, can hide a lot of the transition moments.
"An easy way to prevent some of these defensive miscues from happening is to just be better with the ball."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Eduard Lowen
Lowen scored his fourth goal of the MLS season last time out, converting from the penalty spot as St. Louis drew 4-4 with the Timbers.
Only Joao Klauss, with five goals, has outscored him for St. Louis this term.
LA Galaxy – Marco Reus
Reus is one of 20 players in MLS history to record a goal and an assist on his regular-season debut.
He is also the fifth Galaxy player to do so, after Steven Gerrard, Andreas Herzog, Giovani dos Santos and Sasha Victorine. No other team have had more than two players achieve the feat.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The Galaxy have won 10 of their last 13 regular-season matches, the first time they have done so in a single season since 2011. LA have not recorded 11 wins in a span of 14 matches within a single regular season in the post-shootout era (since 2000).
It would be no surprise to see the points shared in this one, though. All three meetings between St. Louis and the Galaxy have ended level, all with different scorelines (1-1, 2-2, 3-3).
St. Louis have only won one of the last six matches in which they have held the lead in regular-season play dating back to the beginning of June (four draws, one defeat).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 35.8%
LA Galaxy – 38.1%
Draw – 26.1%
Raphinha hails Barcelona after statement win over Valladolid
Barcelona forward Raphinha believes the team have laid down a statement of their intent by starting the season with four straight wins in LaLiga.
Raphinha scored the first hat-trick of his career and also delivered two assists on Saturday, as Barca crushed Real Valladolid 7-0 at Camp Nou.
Hansi Flick's side already possess a four-point cushion at the top of the table after also recording victories over Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano.
Raphinha believes their results have demonstrated the club got things right in the transfer market, telling Movistar: "Today's game has shown that there is no need for anyone else to come. We are very happy because of that.
"We are in very good shape. The team is working hard. Today's result shows what we are working for.
"We saw that the coach was on the sidelines asking for more goals and that's our mentality.
"We are hungry and want to score as many goals as we can. When we are dominant like we have been, the best way to respect our rivals is not taking the foot off the gas."
Raphinha was one of the players who faced criticism during Barca's trophyless 2023-24 campaign and was rumoured to be on his way out ahead of the new season.
The Blaugrana again battled financial restrictions throughout the window, allowing Ilkay Gundogan to leave in order to secure the registration of new arrival Dani Olmo.
With his future now certain, Raphinha is keen to nail down a starting spot and contribute on a regular basis.
"I don't know if today's was my best game, but it's certainly among my best. I will try to play even better and as much as I can," the Brazilian said.
"I'm very happy to be able to help the team. I feel good. I knew that this season would be very important for me. I'm looking for my best version to help my team-mates and be more confident."
Lazio 2-2 Milan: Leao salvages draw but Rossoneri still winless
Rafael Leao came off the bench to earn Milan a 2-2 draw with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, but Paulo Fonseca's side are still without a Serie A win this season.
Milan were in front at the break through Strahinja Pavlovic's eighth-minute goal, the Serbian rising highest to power home a header from Christian Pulisic's corner.
However, Lazio hit back in the second half with Valentin Castellanos and Boulaye Dia scoring in quick succession.
Nuno Tavares' first-time ball into the centre was met by the unmarked Castellanos to level in the 62nd minute, then Dia tapped another Tavares cutback home to put the Biancocelesti ahead four minutes later.
Fonseca reacted by sending on four substitutes, and those changes had a swift impact as three of them combined for the leveller.
Theo Hernandez – who joined Leao in being dropped from the start – picked out Tammy Abraham, and his lay-off allowed Leao to escape Tavares to fire past Ivan Provedel.
The game was preceded by an emotional tribute to the man who led Lazio to their last league title, Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died at the age of 76 on Monday.
A Lazio shirt bearing the Swede's name was displayed on the home bench, while a banner held up by the home fans read: "You brought us to the top of the world... Have a good trip Mr. Sven."
Data Debrief: Milan's slow start continues
New Milan boss Fonseca is already under pressure after overseeing a return of two points from his first three league games at the helm.
It is the first time the Rossoneri have drawn two of their opening three matches in a Serie A season since 2011-12, when they also drew two and lost one,
They went on to finish second that season, just four points adrift of champions Juventus. If a title challenge is to take place this term, rapid improvements are needed.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
