Man Utd 'can kick Sir Jim Ratcliffe out' in new takeover as Glazers 'discontent' emerges

has ruffled feathers among the with at least two decisions since he inherited control of football operations at Manchester United, according to reports. And United's majority owners have the option to remove Sir Jim from the club's structure later this year as part of his takeover agreement.

The INEOS kingpin has taken a ruthless approach since investing £1.25billion for a 28.9 per cent stake in February 2024. Sir Jim is United's chief decision-maker, despite his status as a minority shareholder, as he attempts to save the club from financial and sporting ruin.

However, perhaps unsurprisingly, some of his moves have reportedly rubbed the Glazers up the wrong way.

According to , there has already been discontent surrounding Sir Jim's push to hold ExCos in different locations that are more suited to him.

His desire to gather for the meetings in Monaco, for example, is said to make it more inconvenient for the Glazers to attend.

Inevitably, Sir Jim's frank nature in his latest round of public interviews reportedly didn't go down well among his business partners.

It's claimed, in particular, that his bold statement that United were at risk of "going bust by Christmas" earlier this year didn't sit right with the Glazers.

Sir Jim has faced a barrage of bad publicity throughout his regime thus far for his full-speed cost-cutting measures, including sanctioning up to 450 redundancies in just over a year.

Plenty of the criticism aimed at the Glazers over their 20 years of controversial ownership has been redirected at the British billionaire.

However, while that has benefitted the American family, as well as making their pockets far heavier, they could soon explore an alternative partnership.

The report adds that the Glazers can soon activate their drag-along rights if fresh interest over a full takeover emerges.

Sir Jim can counter any bid that the United owners receive for their Class B shares, which hold much more power than Class A shares.

However, he will be compelled to join them in accepting a full sale to another party if he can't match an external offer.

There is no agreement for Sir Jim to eventually buy out the remainder of the Glazers' shares, potentially leaving the 72-year-old vulnerable if a third party enters the frame.

The drag-along rights reportedly come into effect in three months, by which point he will reach the year-and-a-half mark of his investment.

If Sir Jim sells his shares as part of such a deal within the following 18 months, he would make all his money back from the investment.

Beyond that point, he would be obliged to accept whatever the Glazers are willing to agree on. But judging by their first strategic review, that asking price is universally deemed unrealistic.