Manchester United chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe feels the exit of forward Marcus Rashford is “a good thing” as he also suggested that sales will help the budget available to Ruben Amorim in the summer.

Amorim made it no secret he was not a fan of Rashford when coming through the door at Old Trafford. The forward played six games for him, and was on the scoresheet three times.

However, the boss dropped Rashford for the Manchester derby in December, and he was not seen in a United shirt beyond that, with the manager citing poor training efforts as his reason against picking him, before Rashford was loaned out to Aston Villa in January.

United chairman Ratcliffe has suggested the forward’s exit from United is good for the player.

“He’s moved out of Manchester and maybe that’s a good thing for him. I am very pleased he is doing well,” he said.

“It’s good to see because he has got tremendous talent, but for whatever reason it wasn’t working in Manchester for the past couple of seasons. But he is a very talented footballer, Rashford.”

Ratcliffe also suggested that sales will boost the budget available to Amorim in the summer.

“There will be a budget for Amorim this summer. I’m not going to disclose it. Of course, that budget changes depending on who he might decide to sell because that would supplement the budget,” he said.

MORE ON THE RATCLIFFE INTERVIEWS ON F365:
👉  ‘Do you?!’ – Neville baffled by Ratcliffe’s Amorim assessment amid Man Utd ‘salary bill’ whataboutery
👉 Ratcliffe admits Ashworth among ‘couple of errors’ as Man Utd chief makes ‘bust by Christmas’ claim
👉 Ratcliffe names five Man Utd players in ‘not good enough or overpaid’ admission

Rashford is available to Villa at the end of his loan for £40million, and he has shown promise for the Midlands outfit so far, so there’s certainly a chance they take that opportunity.

Otherwise, there remain clubs being linked with the forward’s signature for if that move doesn’t happen.

A report in February suggested that United were hoping to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic, and their preferred route to that transfer would be to offer up Rashford.

It was suggested there was ‘uncertainty’ over whether Villa would take up their option to land the United man, which could play into the Red Devils’ hands in potentially getting a promising player out of it.

READ MORE: Sir Jim Ratcliffe: Fact-checking the Man Utd co-owner’s interview bullsh*t

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe put his head above the parapet on Monday to answer questions from Gary Neville and others on the on and off-field mess he’s overseen for the last year at Old Trafford.

He admitted to “a couple of errors” having made at least 17 of them, claimed Ruben Amorim is doing an “excellent job” and continues to provide an “umbrella” for the Glazers.

After some fact-checking we’ve called him on five instances of bullsh*t.

The ‘salary bill’ whataboutery
“I think what he’s got out of the players he’s got available, I think he’s done well with,” Ratcliffe clarified having claimed Ruben Amorim is doing an “excellent job”.

“Do you?!” Gary Neville replied in shock, and before he could figure out how to frame a next question that didn’t hint at the Manchester United co-owner knowing sweet f*** all about football, Ratcliffe engaged in some very flawed “salary bill” whataboutery.

“If I look at the salary bill of the squad that’s available to him, that salary bill is not the salary bill of Manchester City or Liverpool, it’s a fraction of it.

“If you look at the salary bill of the players that are available to him that are not injured, or not out on loan, because we’ve got, you know, we’ve got Antony out on loan, we’ve got [Jadon] Sancho out on loan, we’ve got [Marcus] Rashford out on loan, we’ve got Mason Mount who hasn’t really played in the last two seasons, we’ve got Luke Shaw who hasn’t played in the last two seasons.

“So if you modify our salary bill for the players that are not available to Ruben, then our salary bill ranks us about, you know, middling, second half of the table. We’re sort of level with the likes of a Nottingham Forest or Everton, not a Manchester City one.

“That salary bill, if you look at that salary bill, is probably about £130m, and we’re talking about Liverpool who’s got a salary bill of £200m, Manchester City have got a salary bill of £300m, so that’s the squad that Ruben’s playing with.”

Manchester City’s salary according to Capology is £223m and even according to Ratcliffe’s caveated United salary bill, £130m still puts them above Liverpool (£129m) and all other Premier League clubs other than Arsenal (£179m) and Chelsea (£161m).

They are not “sort of level” with Everton (£72m), and certainly not with Nottingham Forest (£55m), who are currently 11 places and 16 points above Ratcliffe’s United.

‘A couple of errors’
Ratcliffe essentially admitted to the “couple of errors” it was impossible to shirk the blame for. There is simply no way that handing Erik ten Hag a new contract and hiring Dan Ashworth before sending him packing after five months could have been dressed up to be anything other than massive blunders.

But we would probably have brought up one or two of his other 17 mistakes at Old Trafford had we had the opportunity to conduct the interview, including the club’s policy of contacting family members of the recently deceased to enquire over the status of their season tickets, and we would definitely have gone armed with a picture of former Manchester United captain Katie Zelem to see if he now knows who the bloody hell she is.

When asked if he wanted to clear up the Zelem reports, Ratcliffe answered: “No, not really.”

Four of the top eight earners not available
“If you look at the top eight players in terms of salaries in Manchester United, 50% of those are not available to Ruben.”

Technically correct. Marcus Rashford (£300k per week), Mason Mount (£250k), Jadon Sancho (£150k) and Luke Shaw (£150k) are all currently unavailable. And pointing out that “half of Liverpool’s cream would be gone” (though we may use a different turn of phrase) if Arne Slot faced similar problems is fair enough as their top eight features Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alexis Mac Allister, Alisson and Ryan Gravenberch, but to namecheck Manchester City in similar terms given they’ve been without Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones for big chunks of the campaign was odd.

And it was also convenient not to have mentioned second-placed Arsenal given Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are all in their top eight earners.

‘Progress’ under Amorim
Having described Erik ten Hag’s reign as “erratic”, Ratcliffe claimed that after a “difficult start” under Amorim we’ve seen “progress”.

Nonsense. If anything, after a decent start results have deteriorated. Manchester United won four and drew one of their opening seven games under Amorim, with the only defeats coming against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, both of whom look set for Champions League football next season. They’ve won just seven of 19 games since.

MORE ON THE RATCLIFFE INTERVIEWS ON F365
👉  ‘Do you?!’ – Neville baffled by Ratcliffe’s Amorim assessment amid Man Utd ‘salary bill’ whataboutery
👉 Ratcliffe admits Ashworth among ‘couple of errors’ as Man Utd chief makes ‘bust by Christmas’ claim
👉 Ratcliffe names five Man Utd players in ‘not good enough or overpaid’ admission

The Glazers ‘umbrella’
Banners saying “we want our club back” and “£1bn stolen” were on show as Manchester United fans protested the Glazers’ ownership on Sunday, referring to the amount spent on servicing the debt loaded on to United when the Glazer family bought the club in 2005.

United’s current total debt, including £300m in outstanding transfer fees – which Ratcliffe was eager to point out – is in excess of £1bn. In the last financial year they paid £37m in interest on the debt.

“It’s not the solution to keep throwing money at the problem,” Ratcliffe told Neville when asked about the lack of investment from the Glazers.

Sure, but the Glazers investing just £45m (or half an Antony) of their own money into Manchester United in two decades is criminal. The owners of newly-promoted Ipswich Town have put £83m into their club, Southampton’s owners have pumped £85m into the Saints and Bill Foley has put £93m worth of funding into Bournemouth.

In just two years, Todd Boehly and BlueCo have pumped £146m into Chelsea. Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi owners have invested £1.3bn into their club since 2008. Former Everton chief Farhad Moshiri invested £750m into the Toffees since 2016.

Rather than taking aim at the Glazers over the damage they’re clearly most at fault for, he poked fun at Ed Woodward and previous “management teams” for hiring a body language expert on £175k and making similarly lavish spending decisions.

“You’ve got to get the house in order. If you look at the reason the debt is at the level it is at the moment, that’s increased by £330million in the last four years because the club’s been spending so much more than it’s earning.”

That’s part of the reason, but it’s also got a lot to do with the Glazers not giving two shiny sh*ts about Manchester United. As Neville said, Ratcliffe is now “providing an umbrella over their heads” which should instead be folded and handed to the United fans for them to keep jabbing the Americans with.

Paul Scholes is still unsure what Joshua Zirkzee brings to the Man Utd team after they drew 1-1 with Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Red Devils took the lead against the run of play on the stroke of half-time with Bruno Fernandes converting a wonderful free-kick to put Ruben Amorim’s team ahead at the interval.

A wonderful finish from the edge of the box from Declan Rice saw second-placed Arsenal level with 16 minutes left on the clock but neither side could get a winner.

Man Utd had a number of very good chances in the second half to make sure they took all three points but they failed to convert.

Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund have taken plenty of criticism this season with duo scoring just five Premier League goals between them.

Netherlands international Zirkzee did score the Man Utd goal in a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad in midweek but, after watching the Dutchman against Arsenal, Man Utd legend Scholes remains unconvinced by the striker.

After the match, Scholes told Premier League Productions: “Both teams are in desperate need of a striker.

“Zirkzee I thought was a little bit disappointing today. I’m not sure he’s a number nine or a number ten.

“I’m not really sure what Zirkzee brings to the team. Rasmus Hojlund is obviously still having his issues but both teams are crying out for attacking players.”

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Manchester United draw shows Mikel Arteta’s robotic approach is holding Arsenal back
👉 Premier League prize money calculated: Manchester United unfairly high in earnings table
👉 Xavi ‘wants to take two’ Barcelona players on his ‘new adventure’ at Man Utd

Fernandes was the hero again at Old Trafford on Sunday and Man Utd boss Amorim wants the rest of his players to be more like the Portugal international.

Amorim said: “I think any coach when he wants to bring players, he expects the best, but sometimes they have to adapt and sometimes you have luck with the character of the player or not.

“Even with all the investigation that all the coaches do before signing players. What I can say is that we need more Brunos. That is clear.

“Not just the quality, the character, not some mistakes, but the character that he has, the availability in this league, is so important and he’s so decisive with the ball and without the ball.”

And Amorim thought his side were unlucky not to beat Arsenal, the Man Utd boss added: “If you look at the chances and then look at the game, Arsenal had more possession, but we try to play the game in a low block.

“So it’s hard to say that we deserve it as Arsenal also tried to win the game. But, if you look at the chances, I think we were quite close to winning the game. David Raya did really well to defend his goal and, sometimes, if the ball is 10 centimetres a little bit to the side, it can change a game.

“We were waiting for a mistake from the opponents, but we tried to win the game. We tried to find a way to beat a very good team and showed that today.”

According to reports, Chelsea are ‘preparing to step up their efforts’ to sign Manchester United academy product Kobbie Mainoo.

The England international enjoyed a sensational breakout season for Man Utd during the 2023/24 campaign as he was a shining light for his boyhood club.

Mainoo grabbed five goals and three assists for the Red Devils before he shone for England at last summer’s European Championships.

The centre-midfielder has endured a stop-start season in 2024/25 as he’s only made 15 Premier League starts and he was heavily linked with a shock exit in January.

Man Utd – second in our Premier League net spend table – are strapped for cash and need to sell pricey assets to raise funds for a major squad rebuild under head coach Ruben Amorim. Their poor performances this season leave most of their squad at risk of being offloaded and Mainoo would be a pure profit sale.

READ: 16 Conclusions on Man United 1-1 Arsenal: Arteta’s obsession, Amorim’s compromise and Neville’s wall

The Red Devils reportedly asked for around £70m for their academy product in January, and Chelsea were in talks with their Premier League rivals over a move that did not end up going through.

Still, Mainoo could still leave Man Utd this summer and a report from Caught Offside claims Chelsea are ‘eyeing’ the midfielder as they considers ‘selling’ Romeo Lavia.

The Blues have reportedly ‘cast doubts’ over Lavia as they are ‘concerned’ about his injury record and they are ‘preparing to step up their pursuit’ of Mainoo.

‘Mainoo has been engaged in talks with the Red Devils over a contract renewal, but so far, the two parties have not been able to agree on terms. Despite his rapid rise, he remains one of the lowest-paid members of the squad, earning just £20,000 per week.

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Scholes still has no idea what ‘disappointing’ Man Utd star ‘brings to the team’
👉 Xavi ‘wants to take two’ Barcelona players on his ‘new adventure’ at Man Utd
👉 Premier League prize money calculated: Manchester United unfairly high in earnings table

‘His representatives are pushing for a significant pay rise to around £180,000 per week, which is an increase that could complicate Man United’s efforts to keep him, especially with Financial Fair Play restrictions looming.

‘Chelsea, meanwhile, are keeping a close eye on the situation, as they did over the summer – and particularly given their concerns over Lavia.’

The report has also commented on Mainoo’s transfer ‘preference’.

‘A move wouldn’t be straightforward. As has been reported elsewhere, his wage demands would put him in line with Cole Palmer in Chelsea’s pay structure.

‘Mainoo, who turns 20 in April, has two years remaining on his current contract. While Man United value the England international at around £75 million, they could be willing to cash in if the right offer arrives.

‘Negotiations over a new contract have been ongoing for some time, but no agreement has been reached.

‘Mainoo’s preference would be a move to Spain or Italy, rather than a Premier League club. But if Chelsea were to meet his wage demands, it’s thought a breakthrough could be reached.’