INEOS arrived at Manchester United promising to restore the club’s former glory, but Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s leadership has become increasingly controversial.

The British billionaire completed his minority investment in February 2024, handing his petrochemicals group control of football operations while the Glazers retained majority ownership.

Supporters initially hoped the arrangement would transform United’s recruitment, infrastructure and sporting fortunes.

Instead, INEOS have overseen hundreds of redundancies, unpopular ticketing changes and repeated managerial upheaval.

Erik ten Hag was retained in 2024 before being dismissed months later, while sporting director Dan Ashworth departed after just five months.

Ruben Amorim subsequently lost his job, leaving Michael Carrick responsible for rebuilding United after an encouraging third-place finish last season.

However, the summer transfer window exposed further shortcomings.

United spent heavily on midfielders Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos but failed to recruit a specialist left-back.

That decision left Carrick heavily dependent on injury-prone Luke Shaw, with Patrick Dorgu increasingly deployed further forward.

Centre Devils previously highlighted serious weaknesses in United’s summer transfer business, particularly their failure to strengthen defensively.

The consequences have been severe.

United sit 16th in the Premier League following Sunday’s embarrassing 3-0 defeat against Bournemouth, having won just two of their opening 12 competitive matches.

Supporters have protested against both ownership groups, while reports suggest the Glazers are increasingly unhappy with Ratcliffe’s leadership.

Now, INEOS have received significant financial backing in a separate development involving their wider business empire.

INEOS officially secure major financial boost

According to an official announcement from Scottish Enterprise, INEOS Olefins & Polymers UK has received £5 million in environmental funding for its Grangemouth manufacturing facility.

The investment supports the installation of Furnace 10, an advanced energy-efficient furnace designed to improve productivity and reduce emissions.

The project safeguards more than 100 manufacturing jobs and could cut annual carbon emissions by 25,600 tonnes.

INEOS O&P UK chief executive Nick Williamson welcomed the funding, highlighting improvements to the performance of Britain’s only ethylene manufacturing plant.

The announcement follows a separate £150 million joint investment unveiled by the UK Government and INEOS in December 2025.

Although unrelated to Manchester United’s finances, the funding represents a significant development for Ratcliffe’s industrial operations.