Sir Jim Ratcliffe in talks to settle £180m dispute

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has entered talks to settle the £180m dispute which has dominated headlines throughout the last few weeks.

The Manchester United co-owner has not exactly built himself a popular image whilst at the club with his comments on immigration attracting criticism from then Prime Minster Keir Starmer.

Further moves to introduce additional hospitality seating at Old Trafford through moving season ticket holders has also not gone done well, with Ratcliffe forced to have extra security for matchdays at the stadium.

His actions away from United have attracted much hate, too, with his dispute with Sir Ben Ainslie now coming to the forefront.

The Telegraph have said that both Ainslie and Ratcliffe are in conversations over resolving a dispute relating to the £180m America’s Cup boat they built together.

Both sides want an out-of-court settlement before America’s Cup action starts in the spring, only giving them around six months to reach a settlement.

Ratcliffe previously launched legal action against Ainslie relating to the boat’s use.

That boat, which was taken by Ainslie’s Athena Racing, belongs to INEOS according to their legal team, with them saying it cost £180m to build.

With both sides now looking to settle the dispute, it appears that both Ainslie and Ratcliffe are finally willing to get in a room with each other and deal with the issue.

It remains unclear what the result of the conversations between the pair will be whilst it is also uncertain which side will benefit more from the case’s eventual resolution.

Focus will now switch towards both sides to see what case they put forward and to see if that case is convincing enough to earn a reasonable result.

Should Sir Jim Ratcliffe lose the case, it remains unclear whether it would affect his ownership of Manchester United in any way.