Sir Jim Ratcliffe has contacted fans directly for the first time since agreeing to buy a 25% stake in Manchester United, calling for “time and patience”.

After more than a year of exploring so-called “strategic alternatives” – including investment or a sale – the club’s deeply unpopular owners, the Glazer family, reached a deal with Sir Jim, chairman of INEOS, for £1.25bn.

INEOS will take over the management of United’s football operations, with the firm’s director of sport, Sir Dave Brailsford, watching the side’s match against Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Sir Jim has now written to the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST), the Fans’ Forum and the Fans’ Advisory Board, promising INEOS is “in for the long-term”.

“I wanted to write to you at this time given the critical role of the fans to the future of Manchester United as we recognise our responsibility as custodians of the club on your behalf,” he wrote.

“I believe we can bring sporting success on the pitch to complement the undoubted commercial success that the club has enjoyed.

“It will require time and patience alongside rigour and the highest level of professional management. You are ambitious for Manchester United and so are we.”

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He added there are “no guarantees in sport”, but that “together we want to help take Manchester United back to where the club belongs” at the very top of world football.

“I take that responsibility very seriously,” he said, adding he does not expect to speak publicly about the club until the deal has been ratified by the Premier League – which could take four to six weeks.

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Sir Jim, who says he is a childhood United fan and was born in nearby Failsworth, agreed the deal following a drawn-out ownership saga that lasted 13 months.

The club’s US-based owners, the Glazer family, revealed their intention to undertake a strategic review of their options, including the possibility of selling up, in November 2022.

MUST had said fans have “mixed feelings” over the sale and “remain sceptical” because the Glazer family still runs the club.

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