Sir Jim Ratcliffe's 25% Purchase of Manchester United Approved by FA and Premier League

Sir Jim Ratcliffe's deal to buy a 25% stake in Manchester United is expected to be officially completed later this week after receiving the approval of both the Football Association and the Premier League.

The 71-year-old billionaire's purchase is said to be worth around $1.3 billion.

Although the Glazer family will still hold a majority stake in the club, Ratcliffe's Ineos Group will be put in charge of football operations.

Ratcliffe and Ineos will be responsible for overseeing the running of United's men's and women's first teams.

Ratcliffe has a deadline of February 17 to complete his purchase.

A billboard pictured near Old Trafford featuring an image of Sir Jim Ratcliffe alongside the words: "Welcome to MANCHESTER"

IMAGO/PA Images/Martin Rickett

In addition to the purchase of shares from the Glazer family, Ratcliffe has pledged to invest $300 million to improve the club's Old Trafford stadium.

The first $200m will be "paid upon the closing of the transaction" with a further $100m of investment to arrive "by the end of 2024".

Ratcliffe was born in Greater Manchester and has described himself as "a lifelong supporter" of United, despite trying and failing to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich last year.

He previously offered to pay £2.5bn for Chelsea, while also pledging to invest £1.75bn over 10 years, but he was outbid by a consortium led by Todd Boehly.