Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to fly to England tomorrow before Manchester United's Saturday lunchtime fixture at Chelsea, a move that could increase pressure on manager Michael Carrick.
The Ineos co-owner had been visiting Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe before returning to his Monaco residence.
Chelsea serves as Ratcliffe's preferred venue on this side of the Channel, with his Ineos office located in Knightsbridge near one of Harrod's entrances and his Grenadier pub about a ten-minute walk away.
Since acquiring a minority stake in United, Ratcliffe has not witnessed the Red Devils win at Stamford Bridge.
When his shareholding was confirmed, he described the club's environment as "wrong" and said he had not yet fixed it.
In the past week, Carrick faced public criticism from his captain, and the team selection suggested the manager sensed trouble.
United supporters booed the players, abused the director of football, and sang chants calling for owners Ratcliffe and the Glazers to be burned.
During United's 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth at Old Trafford, fans also mocked the club's "best in class" Ineos slogan.
About 18 months ago Ratcliffe warned that if the Glazer family were being abused, "enough's enough, let somebody else do this." Yet fans now lump him together with the Glazers.
United have not yet completed three years under the Ineos era, and Ratcliffe's group has tried to distance itself from the previous owners.
When invited to comment on Manchester City's February 2024 financial charges, Ratcliffe declined, and United subsequently began hiring former City staff.
Four former City personnel, chief executive Omar Berrada, director of football Jason Wilcox, director of performance Sam Erith and director of communications Toby Craig, regularly sit together in the directors' box.
Berrada, the only direct City transfer, has faced scrutiny, while Wilcox's past as a Leeds player is also remembered.
United's recruitment of Berrada was hailed as a coup; he previously spent 13 years at a highly successful club with strong recruitment and academy records, though an independent report later called that club a sham.
United insist the Moroccan executive is not involved in any allegations.
Wilcox, 55, was promoted to director of football in June 2025 after brief stints managing Russell Martin at Southampton and Carrick, a move critics view unfavourably.
Erith once joined reporters on a tour of United's £50 million Carrington training complex, but avoided answering questions, deferring to former journalist and communications director Andrew Ward.
Ward, a lifelong United fan, previously served as football director John Murtough, who left in April 2024 after 11 years, making way for Dan Ashworth, who departed after five months.
Wilcox remains silent on why United continue to back Carrick for another match.
Recent rounds of redundancies have, according to a former employee, drained the club's spirit as many staff have left.
United's decline has moved them toward the relegation zone, prompting a senior agency source to comment that the club is "one of the most incompetent" he has seen.
