INEOS put football club up for sale

Manchester United’s recent activities has been shaped by ambitious projects designed to restore the club to the summit of European football.

From the redevelopment of the training ground to changes in the recruitment department, the current leadership has made several attempts to reshape the club’s future.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe arrived promising a more efficient football operation after securing a minority stake in December 2023.

His INEOS team was handed responsibility for football decisions, leaving the Glazer family in control of the majority ownership.

However, the changes have not brought the consistent progress many supporters expected, with United enduring another turbulent period on the pitch.

The club’s recent results have added to the scrutiny surrounding the people responsible for its direction.

INEOS put football club up for sale

Now, Ratcliffe’s sporting empire is also undergoing a significant change, with INEOS putting Swiss Super League club FC Lausanne-Sport up for sale, as reported by The Athletic.

The company has appointed global consultancy firm Alvarez & Marsal to oversee the sale and has circulated a five-page sales prospectus to potential investors.

The Athletic has reviewed a confidential sales document that was never intended to be made public.

Named “Project Striker”, the prospectus presents Lausanne-Sport as a well-established club competing in Switzerland’s 12-team top division, arguing that the domestic landscape is relatively open because traditional powerhouses Basel and Young Boys have both experienced recent difficulties.

That positioning appears to highlight the possibility of reaching European competitions more easily than in some other leagues, despite Lausanne managing to qualify only once during INEOS’ ownership.

Rather than focusing on the club’s history and achievements, the document reportedly emphasises its infrastructure and business structure.

It makes no reference to Lausanne’s seven Swiss league championships or nine domestic cup triumphs, instead promoting what it describes as a distinctive infrastructure arrangement and a business model requiring relatively few assets.

The latter is notable because the club does not own its stadium or training facilities, renting both from the local council.

The prospectus also appears to omit several significant financial and sporting concerns.

Lausanne are bottom of the league, while their losses are expected to reach approximately £5 million this season and could increase if replacement sponsorship is not secured.

Relegation would mark the third time the club had dropped down a division during INEOS’ ownership, although the period has also included two promotions.

Ratcliffe first acquired Lausanne in November 2017, before expanding INEOS’ football interests by purchasing French club OGC Nice in 2019.

The company later secured its minority investment in United in a deal agreed in December 2023, gaining control of the club’s football operations despite the Glazer family retaining majority ownership.

Their portfolio has also included the INEOS Grenadiers cycling team, a one-third stake in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team and the INEOS Britannia sailing project.

INEOS has also been involved in rugby sponsorship, including a deal with New Zealand Rugby that ended in a dispute over unpaid sponsorship fees before the parties reached a settlement in March 2025.

Lausanne’s proposed sale comes amid reports of a retreat from some of those commitments.

INEOS has also sought a buyer for Nice, while its sponsorship relationship with Tottenham Hotspur ended in 2025.

The company’s decision to appoint Alvarez & Marsal to handle the Lausanne sale, according to the supplied report, suggests it wants to move the process forward rather than continue investing indefinitely.

United was supposed to represent a major opportunity for INEOS to demonstrate its football expertise on the biggest stage.

Instead, the period since Ratcliffe’s arrival has featured a series of costly structural changes and setbacks.

Erik ten Hag was retained after the 2024 FA Cup triumph, only to be dismissed later that year.

Sporting director Dan Ashworth, brought in as part of the new football leadership structure, departed after just five months.

The changes contributed to costs running into millions, while the club also announced successive rounds of redundancies as it attempted to reduce expenditure.

The cost-cutting measures have proved controversial among supporters.

United raised matchday ticket prices and removed some staff benefits, while hundreds of employees lost their jobs as the club sought to return to profitability.

There have been investments in infrastructure, including improvements to the Carrington training ground, and the club has continued to recruit players.

But those moves have yet to produce the consistent results supporters expect.

The current run of 8 matches without a win, including heavy defeats to Como and Bournemouth, has intensified scrutiny of the football operation.

The sale of Lausanne does not automatically mean INEOS will loosen its grip on United.

For United supporters, the priority remains clear.

They want a stable leadership structure, better recruitment and a team capable of competing at the highest level.

With INEOS reassessing parts of its sporting portfolio, its most visible football project is under pressure to show that the investment in Manchester can deliver results.