Soccer

Sir Jim Ratcliffe defends ‘difficult and unpopular decisions’ at Man United

The co-owner says the club have ‘drifted for a long period of time’.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is fed up with the mediocrity at Manchester United
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is fed up with the mediocrity at Manchester United (Simon Peach/PA)
By Simon Peach, PA Chief Football Writer

Sir Jim Ratcliffe says Manchester United have become “mediocre” as the co-owner defended the need to make “difficult and unpopular decisions”.

The 72-year-old became minority shareholder of the Premier League club at the start of a year that has seen him oversee some controversial changes at Old Trafford.

Around 250 members of staff have left and Sir Alex Ferguson’s ambassadorial role is ending among ongoing cost-cutting measures, while recently announced ticket price rises have sparked anger.

The mid-season decision to increase prices of remaining home tickets to £66 per match, without concessions for children or pensioners, was met by fury and a protest before last weekend’s match against Everton.

Manchester United fans protested ticket pricing last weekend before facing Everton
Manchester United fans protested ticket pricing last weekend before facing Everton (Martin Rickett/PA)

United said in a statement the price hikes were part of wider measures aimed at putting the club “on a stronger financial footing” at a time when Ratcliffe wants to take them back to the top.

He told the United We Stand fanzine: “To get Manchester United to where we need to get it — it’s a bit like the country.

“We have to make some difficult and unpopular decisions. If you shy away from the difficult decisions then nothing much is going to change.

“We won’t get everything right and it won’t happen overnight, but we haven’t been sat on our hands for nine months. There has been a lot of change.

“Here at Carrington (United’s training complex) as you can see. We didn’t waste any time to get Old Trafford on the agenda. Changes in the football and executive structure. New players. (Head coach) Ruben (Amorim) has arrived.

“We still have a long way to go and we still have a number of difficult decisions to make, but we have to do that for the better.

“The club has drifted for a long period of time, a decade or so. Manchester United has become mediocre.

“It’s not elite and it is supposed to be one of the best football clubs in the world. That’s what it used to be under Alex (Ferguson).

“There is major change to come to achieve elite status. There has already been huge change.”

United last won the Premier League in 2013 and posted net losses of £113.2million for the 12 months ending June 30, 2024.

Sir Dave Brailsford, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Avram Glazer during the FA Cup final earlier this year
Sir Dave Brailsford, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Avram Glazer during the FA Cup final earlier this year (Nick Potts/PA)

Ratcliffe says recruitment has “not been good enough” during that period.

“We need to sweat every pound so that we have more capacity for the investment in players,” he said. “Those are the big-ticket items which take up time.

“The other point here is how you grow the amount of money that you can spend on players. You can run the business more efficiently. And you can grow the top line.”