Manchester, UK (AFP) – British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has expanded his sports portfolio by buying a 25% stake in Manchester United.
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Mr Ratcliffe’s petrochemical company INEOS has already used its huge profits to fund a range of sporting projects including football, cycling, Formula 1, track and field and sailing.
AFP Sports took note of INEOS’ record.
football
INEOS took charge of French club Nice in 2019 in a deal reportedly worth 100 million euros ($110 million).
Ratcliffe’s brother Bob, head of football operations at INEOS, has expressed ambitions to reach the Champions League within “three to five years”, but that is yet to happen despite the club currently sitting second in League One. do not have.
Despite the backing of one of Britain’s richest men, INEOS’ football project is focused on nurturing young talent rather than spending big transfer fees.
The company’s first foray into soccer was the acquisition of Switzerland’s FC Lausanne Sport in 2017.
His life was full of ups and downs, being demoted twice and promoted twice before returning to the top tier.
“We made some mistakes in Lausanne, but we are quick learners,” Jim Ratcliffe said when he took over at Nice.
However, fiscal responsibility is central to INEOS’s Lausanne plan.
“The club needs to be successful not only on the pitch but also off it,” Ratcliffe said.
cycling
INEOS invested in cycling in 2019, taking over from British organization Team Sky, which had dominated the cycling world.
Sky won the Tour de France six times between 2012 and 2018, with Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas at the wheel, and Dave Brailsford pulling the strings.
Brailsford has since become INEOS’ sporting director, overseeing several projects.
Team INEOS’ success in the Tour de France continued in its first year, with Colombian Egal Bernal winning the yellow jersey in 2019.
However, despite boasting the biggest budget in cycling at around 50 million euros, INEOS has since been overtaken by UAE Team Emirates and Jumbo-Visma.
formula one
INEOS acquired a one-third stake in F1 team Mercedes in 2020.
However, after winning seven consecutive Drivers’ World Championships with either Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg behind the wheel, Mercedes lost the title to Red Bull and Max Verstappen.
running
INEOS supported Eliud Kipchoge’s success in becoming the first man to run a marathon in less than two hours in Vienna in 2019.
Kipchoge was assisted by a group of pacemakers working in shifts, forming a V-shaped air resistance position, drawing on the expertise INEOS has gained from the cycling peloton.
However, due to the conditions used to support the Kenyans, this feat was not recognized as a world record by the Director of Athletics.
sailing
INEOS Britannia, led by four-time Olympic champion Ben Ainslie, will take on the 2024 America’s Cup in Barcelona after failing to achieve their goal of becoming the first British winner in 2021. Become.
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