Sir Jim Ratcliffe is facing backlash following a series of interviews he conducted on 10 March. The billionaire co-owner of Manchester United faced a series of questions surrounding United’s budget cuts, player signings and goals for the future.
His interviews were headlined by him seemingly berating current Manchester United players. Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund and Casemiro, stating that they were “inherited” players. All three players were brought into the club before INEOS, the company that Ratcliffe is the Chairman of, became co-owners of the Red Devils.
Onana has been criticised since his arrival at Old Trafford, where he replaced the long-serving David De Gea. Hojlund has failed to live up to his £64 million price tag since arriving in Manchester, with the Danish international only finding the back of the net two times this year in the Premier League. Casemiro found success in his debut season in England, but since then the former Real Madrid midfielder has struggled for form as he enters the final stages of his career.
This is all while the trio rack up a reported £555,000 a week in wages.
Alongside this, Ratcliffe commented that some players at United were “not good enough and overpaid”. The Manchester United co-owner did not explicitly reveal who these players were.
United have also reportedly paid more than £18 million to let go of both former Head Coach Erik Ten Hag and Director of Football Dan Ashworth in the last six months, the latter spent five months in his role following an enforced 18 months of gardening leave following his departure from Newcastle United.
To add to United’s financial woes, Ratcliffe stated that the club would need to fork out £89 million to pay for players already at the club, with the likes of Jadon Sancho mentioned by the billionaire.
This all comes with the backdrop of United cutting 450 jobs under Ratcliffe’s ownership, while the co-owner of the Red Devils has removed non-playing staffs’ lunch privileges, with it being reported that United’s staff now receive a singular apple instead of a full lunch.
This has been rightly criticised by United and rival fans alike, with the club reportedly having the third highest wage bill in the Premier League for its players, despite them being firmly rooted in the bottom half of the table. Therefore, surely Ratcliffe must look to move on these ‘inherited’ players who, combined, likely make much more than the 450 members of United Staff who are now facing unemployment.
Ratcliffe has stated that: “Manchester United would have run out of cash by the end of this year – by the end of 2025”. This is a damning indictment of how far England’s, and perhaps the world’s, biggest club has fallen in the last decade, with the road back seeming long and arduous.
United have flattered to deceive this season, with the club sitting in 14th in the Premier League as of writing, sitting below the likes of Brentford, Bournemouth and Brighton, all of whom are promoted for the first time to the top flight years after United won their last Premier League in 2013.
United next play Real Sociedad in the Europa League on Thursday.
