Manchester United fans will be hoping Sir Jim Ratcliffe stake is beginning of the end for the Glazers
The calls grew louder from Manchester United fans: “Full sale now.”
It was more than an aspiration.
The Glazers fed the belief their ownership could be ending when announcing in November last year that “strategic alternatives” were being explored.
Instead, control is only being diminished.
Just 25% of the New York Stock Exchange-listed club is being sold to INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the petrochemicals entrepreneur.
Just another reminder of how little the say of supporters – or at least the most vocal ones – counts at Old Trafford.
Human rights activists – and those against state involvement in clubs – would argue for the better.
Not even a bid of around £5bn for a full buyout from Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani – with funding linked to the Qatari state – could tempt the Glazers to sell up.
Manchester United fans have long protested against the Glazer family’s ownership. File pic
The American family valued their footballing asset – bought for £790m with a leveraged takeover in 2005 – at £6bn and counting.
The Sheikh Jassim offer seemed a handsome return on the initial investment, especially when servicing the debt the Glazers loaded on to the club has cost United more than £1bn.
It is cash that has gone to banks rather than building work so desperately needed at Old Trafford and the Carrington training complex.
The women’s team – disbanded in 2005 and only re-formed in 2018 – lacks a dedicated stadium or regular access to Old Trafford.
Ageing infrastructure symbolises the decay of the club.
The hope among fans will be that Sir Jim’s promised investment starts the regeneration of facilities that have fallen behind rivals.
Avram Glazer and his family retain majority ownership under the Ratcliffe deal
The Glazers would see growing the commercial operations at United as a great success.
Revenue at the club has trebled during their 18-year ownership.
But that funded transfer fees and salaries in the struggle to keep up with rivals.
And how they spent – so often wastefully on the wrong players – reflects the shortcomings of the Glazers to identify the smartest sporting minds in the game to run football operations.
A new chief executive is being sought with the departure of Richard Arnold.
Sir Jim’s arrival offers the prospect of fresh ideas, sporting expertise and improved public engagement.
He can tap into the mind of Sir Dave Brailsford, the mastermind behind Team GB’s golden Olympic cycling dominance who serves as INEOS director of sport with roles across cycling, football, sailing and rugby.
Sir Dave Brailsford
But Sir Dave’s legacy has been tainted by investigations into the cycling successes with Team Sky, the forerunner to INEOS Grenadiers when owned by the parent company of Sky News.
Sir Dave previously acknowledged “mistakes were made” by Team Sky in relation to anti-doping and testing practices but denied wrongdoing.
And there are questions about how supremacy has been achieved at Manchester City, the football club that now sets the benchmark for glory.
Contrasting the fortunes of City and United are muddied until a Premier League case into vast alleged financial wrongdoing concludes.
With Abu Dhabi wealth, Manchester City now dominate not just locally in men’s football but across England – and Europe.
It is why the prospect of Qatari investment proved so enticing to some United fans, although not those with the anti-sportswashing banners at matches.
Protests have replaced parades.
In the decade since United last won the Premier League as Sir Alex Ferguson retired, City have won the title six times.
And their maiden Champions League success last season was part of a Treble that emulated United’s greatest achievement in 1999 – four years before the Glazers bought their first shares in the club.
They steadily built up control before gaining complete ownership amid fan protests.
The hope for many supporters will be that the Glazers selling off 25% to Sir Jim is the start of their route out of Old Trafford.
And that the strategic review does indeed produce a better strategy.
But rejecting a complete sale could only deepen the discord in the stands at Old Trafford with the Glazers still owning the most shares.
Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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Putin’s Victory Day parade explained
The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
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This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
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Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
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