Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe admits “some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid” at Old Trafford when asked about five under-performing stars.
Ratcliffe took control of football operations at United just over a year ago and his arrival has if anything seen a downturn in results, first under Erik ten Hag and now under Ruben Amorim, who has failed to lift his side from 14th in the Premier League table having taken charge in November.
The British billionaire has been heavily criticised for his cost-cutting strategies off the pitch, which have resulted in around 400 members of club staff losing their jobs amid rising ticket prices that have led to fan protests.
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But he insists that while many of the decisions are “unpopular”” they are necessary given the club’s financial woes, with Ratcliffe lamenting the fact that the club still has payments to make on players signed before he took control.
He cited the £17m they still need to make for Sancho, who was signed for £73m from Borussia Dortmund in 2021 but hasn’t kicked a ball for United (other than in the Community Shield) since August 2023, returning on loan to Dortmund before heading to Chelsea in the summer.
Ratcliffe told BBC Sport: “If you look at the players we are buying this summer, that we didn’t buy, we’re buying Antony, we’re buying Casemiro, we’re buying Onana, we’re buying Hojlund, we’re buying Sancho. These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we’ve inherited those things and have to sort that out.
“For Sancho, who now plays for Chelsea and we pay half his wages, we’re paying £17m to buy him in the summer.”
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Antony is also out on loan and loving his time at Real Betis having joined for £81.5m from Ajax in the summer of 2022, when Casemiro also joined from Real Madrid for £70m, while Hojlund cost them £64m when he arrived with £47m Onana a year later.
“It takes time for us to move away from the past into a new place in the future,” Ratcliffe added.
When asked whether he was suggesting those players were not good enough for Manchester United, he said: “Some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid, but for us to mould the squad that we are fully responsible for, and accountable for, will take time.
“We’ve got this period of transformation where we move from the past to the future.
“There are some great players in the squad as we know, the captain is a fabulous footballer. We definitely need Bruno, he’s a fantastic footballer.”
