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Manchester United’s majority owners, the Glazers, are reportedly not happy with Sir Jim Ratcliffe due to his comments and behaviour at the club.
Ratcliffe assumed operational control of United in February last year, after his £1.25billion investment for a 28.9 per cent stake. Despite his status as a minority shareholder, the INEOS billionaire is the primary decision-maker at Old Trafford.
He is effectively in charge of the club, with the Glazers satisfied to keep watch from a far distance.
Since his arrival, Ratcliffe has implemented a raft of ruthless cost-cutting measures intended to return United to profitability after years of mismanagement, wastage and neglect under the Glazer family’s ownership.
Ratcliffe has made hundreds of staff redundant, cancelled contracts of club ambassadors including the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, raised ticket prices and slashed cup final privileges for employees.
Some of his decisions have been highly unpopular among the fanbase, and he is often viewed as someone who deflects criticism away from the Glazers, who remain widely condemned and disliked by supporters.
You would assume that the Glazers would be entirely grateful to the British businessman but this doesn’t appear to be the case, if new information revealed by The Athletic is anything to go by.
According to the newspaper, Ratcliffe’s comment in March that United could have gone bust by Christmas without his cash injection and brutal cuts has “not sat easily” with the Glazers.
Ratcliffe said in an interview at the time, “The simple answer is the club runs out of money at Christmas if we don’t do those things [redundancies and ticket price hikes]. If you spend more than you earn eventually that’s the road to ruin. Manchester United had gone off the rails a long way. If you look at the numbers, they were fairly scary because they had lost control of where the ship was headed. And the costs had got out of control.”
“In super-simple terms the club has been spending more money than it has been earning for the last seven years, including this year. If you do that for a prolonged period of time it ends up in a very difficult place, and, for Manchester United, that place ended at the end of this year.”
“At the end of 2025, Manchester United would have run out of cash. That is the first time we have ever said that in public, but that is the fact of the matter.”
It has now come to light that the Glazers were displeased with Ratcliffe’s remarks, most likely because he indirectly offered a blunt and honest critique of their shortcomings at United.
The Athletic add that Ratcliffe’s insistence on holding executive meetings in locations that are convenient for him, such as Monaco, has “ruffled feathers.”
It’s understood that the Glazers find it difficult to make their way to such places.
Oh no, heaven forbid they have to endure the unimaginable hardship of boarding a private jet to Monaco for a high-level meeting. How utterly dreadful! Can you even fathom the inconvenience?
Back to the report, The Athletic explain that the Glazers have the option to remove Ratcliffe from the United hierarchy later this year. The Americans can do this by activating their drag-along rights if interest of a full takeover emerges. Ratcliffe does, however, have the opportunity to match any bids for their Class B shares, which carry more power than the Class A variety.
In case he fails to match the offer, Ratcliffe would be forced to accept a full sale.
However, as it stands, there’s nothing to suggest that this scenario – despite potentially unfolding in just three months – will actually come to pass.
But be careful now, Jim! You jumped into bed with vipers – don’t be shocked if you wake up hissing and missing a toe!
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