Lewis Hamilton’s stance on Man Utd role after private Sir Jim Ratcliffe talks
Lewis Hamilton’s stand on his role at Manchester United after a personal interview with Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Lewis Hamilton is close to Sir Jim.
Lewis Hamilton is close to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s share of the INEOS Formula 1 Mercedes team, and the seven-time world champion also has a keen interest in football.
Lewis Hamilton has previously admitted he is interested in investing in Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Manchester United contract. Ratcliffe is set to buy a 25% stake in United for £1.3bn and is already planning big changes behind the scenes.
The British billionaire is already heavily involved in sports. It owns the football teams OGC Nice and Lausanne-Sport, invests in Formula 1 and sails through the company INEOS.
The 71-year-old has known Hamilton for years through his one-third stake in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team. Hamilton is already an investor in the Denver Broncos NFL franchise and, despite being an Arsenal fan, said he would be open to United’s stake in his business empire.
“I’m part boss and part partner with Jim. I’d say I’m more of a partner because we’re in this together. I’d love to do something with Jim in the future and build with him,” Hamilton said last year. “I can’t say for sure because I don’t know where it will be or how it will be.
“I haven’t had a call yet asking if I want to be involved [in the bid to buy United] but I’d like to be more involved in the team because I believe in black ownership, lack of it and blackness, equality in sports. Again, there is a real lack.”
He added: “I have a very close relationship with Jim so I know where he is (at United). We talk a lot about football because he is very passionate about it. “We had a good chat about what his team is doing and how Arsenal play.”
Hamilton may be an Arsenal fan, but United are not the first rival club he has tried to invest in. In April 2022, the seven-time F1 champion joined former British Airways chairman Sir Martin Broughton in buying Chelsea from Roman Abramovich, but lost out to Todd Boley’s consortium.
According to Forbes, Hamilton earned around $65m (£51m) during his career. The 38-year-old was rumored to be willing to pay around £10million for a deal with Chelsea last year, but a spokesman later denied that figure was accurate.
Whether or not Hamilton joins the Ratcliffe United fold, INEOS will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the club. Ratcliffe ordered his sporting director, Sir Dave Brailsford, to carry out a full audit of the club into the many interests of INEOS.
Richard Arnold has stepped down as Juventus CEO after his contract expired after he joined INEOS in 2022, leaving former Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain manager Jean-Claude Blanc as a rival for the job.
Other changes are expected, with United’s director of football John Murtaugh, technical director Darren Fletcher and director of football operations David Harrison under threat.
His plans are in line with the understanding of Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who asked Ratcliffe about his business approach last October. “He’s a boy from Manchester.
He has the resources he needs, his heart is in the right place for this team and I’m sure he can be very creative at Manchester United. And for us, he’s been a great shareholder, a great voting committee and a sparring partner.”
