Formula 1 legend Sir Lewis Hamilton has hinted he would be open to joining British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe in a potential takeover at Manchester United.
Ratcliffe, who failed in a takeover bid at Chelsea in May because his £4.25bn proposal was submitted well after the deadline for offers, has already confirmed his interest in launching a bid for United.
“If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer,” a statement from a spokesperson revealed, soon after it was reported that the Glazer family are open to selling a stake in United for new investment.
Hamilton was also involved in the Chelsea takeover saga, a named member of Sir Martin Broughton’s unsuccessful consortium alongside tennis icon Serena Williams.
“Jim is part boss but partner – I’d say we’re more partners because we’re in this together, and I hope in future to do something with Jim and build with him,” Hamilton said ahead of F1’s Dutch Grand Prix.
“I don’t know where that will be or what that will be, so I can’t really say.”
He added, “I haven’t had a call from him asking if I want to be involved in [a bid for Manchester United] just yet. But I do want to get more and more involved in teams because I really do believe in black ownership, there is a lack of it in sports. And black equity, again, there is a real lack of that.”
Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey, Toby Cudworth and Harry Symeou bring you a live deadline day edition of Talking Transfers. The team welcome Daniel Childs and Julien Laurens to the show to discuss Chelsea’s late window activity, Arsenal’s pursuit of Douglas Luiz, Paris Saint-Germain’s summer signings & much more! The show is also available on all audio platforms.
Anger from Manchester United fans towards the Glazer family has existed since the original 2005 takeover but has reached new levels over the last 18 months, resulting in multiple huge protests.
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