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Article continues belowArticle continues belowArticle continues below<script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script><ul><li>Accounts reveal eye-watering legal fees</li><li>Takeover saga drags on over a year</li><li>Ratcliffe expected to finalise purchase of stake</li></ul>

Revealed: Man Utd spending £1m per month in legal fees as protracted Sir Jim Ratcliffe takeover saga rumbles on

Premier League

Ipswich

This week marked a year since the <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/glazers-release-statement-confirming-exploring-sale-man-utd/blt38807b11397f354b" target="_blank">Glazer family</a> announced that they were "exploring strategic alternatives" for the club, triggering a sales process yet to reach a conclusion. While the last twelve months have been punctuated by <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/man-utd-fans-stage-sit-in-protest-against-glazers-ownership/blt2ae51a8b6e691c68" target="_blank">fan frustration</a> and <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/the-glazers-gary-neville-man-utd-owners-brighton/bltf8150e99434dbcf0" target="_blank">paralysis in the club's sporting operations</a>, another cost of the protracted process has been revealed. Club accounts show that between November 2022 and June this year, the club incurred legal and consultancy fees of £7m ($8.8m).

WHAT HAPPENED?

That eye-watering figure will further frustrate United's furious fans who have understandably grown impatient with the sale process while the club continue to lose ground on their rivals on and <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/old-trafford-snubbed-euro-2028-bid-man-city-etihad-chosen-host-stadium-instead/blt46a23d0eee3c28a0" target="_blank">off the pitch</a>. An opaque process with extended rounds of bidding eventually saw Sir Jim Ratcliffe as the last man standing. Yet even at this stage, the INEOS chief's purchase of a 25% stake in the club is still to be concluded.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Ratcliffe's eventual acquisition of a minority stake is expected to trigger a shake-up of the club's sporting operations. Ratcliffe holds an interest in a number of sporting ventures and is expected to draw on expertise from the likes of former British Cycling performance director Sir David Brailsford in a bid to revive United's creaking structure.

DID YOU KNOW?

Fans will once again be eagerly refreshing their phones as they wait for news that Ratcliffe's purchase finally becomes legal. The club's lawyers and consultants will no doubt rack up a few more handsome remittances before the process finally concludes.

WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

Revealed: Man Utd spending £1m per month in legal fees as protracted Sir Jim Ratcliffe takeover saga rumbles on | Goal.com Tanzania

The takeover saga surrounding Manchester United is costing the club a staggering £1 million per month in legal fees, club accounts have revealed.