Wolff open to Manchester United investment

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has admitted he would consider investing in the Manchester United Football Club alongside Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The English Premier League club is on the market, with Ratcliffe, founder and largest shareholder of Mercedes F1 sponsor Ineos, poised to take a 25 percent stake.

Wolff and Ratcliffe have a close relationship leading to questions whether the F1 team principal might also invest.

“Jim has shared the trajectory with me,” Wolff told the PA news agency when asked about a possible involvement with Manchester United.

“I very much respect his values and we trust each other. If we felt it would make sense to be part of the investment group then I would certainly look at it.

“I have never aimed for trophy investments but I like the competitiveness of the Premier League,” he added.

“Jim and Manchester United is a love story because he was born there. Our personal relationship is strong and with Ola Kallenius, they call us the Three Amigos because we live in the no-bullshit world.

“If I felt could contribute then I would consider joining him at Manchester United.”

Wolff owns a third of the Mercedes F1 team, together with Ratcliffe (Ineos) and Mercedes-Benz.

The Austrian has previously been a shareholder at Williams, buying into the team in 2009 before becoming executive director at Mercedes in 2013.

According to Forbes, the 51-year-old has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion.

Ratcliffe, 71, is the richest person in the United Kingdom with an estimated wealth of $16.1 billion, while Kallenius, 54, is chairman of Mercedes-Benz Group and CEO of Mercedes-Benz.

Manchester United is currently owned by the Glazer family and has been on the market for almost a year.

It posted revenues of £648 million for the fiscal year ending June, 2023, with projections of between £650 million to £680 million in 2024.

A bid to acquire 100 percent of the club by Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani was recently withdrawn, leaving Ratcliffe as the sole remaining interested party.

That interest is understood to be worth around £1.3 billion and includes a clause that would see him gain control of sporting matters as the Glazers take a step back.