Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has strongly suggested Ruben Amorim will have money to spend on bolstering his squad during the upcoming summer transfer window.
Since his arrival in November last year as Erik ten Hag’s replacement, Amorim has struggled to get a good chunk of the players to get used to his preferred 3-4-3 formation.
There have been calls for Amorim to ditch his football philosophy in favour of an approach that suits the players at his current disposal but he has resisted so far, insisting on multiple occasions that he will not compromise on his principles.
There is a general acceptance both within the club and across the fanbase that Amorim requires players who are able to carry out his instructions fully.
However, with United in dire financial shape, there has been speculation that the Portuguese coach may not have the luxury of a substantial budget, unlike his predecessors at Old Trafford. Having lost £300m in the past three years, Ratcliffe has implemented a number of cost-cutting measures including making hundreds of staff redundant, slashing salaries for club ambassadors and cancelling free lunches, to name a few.
According to Ratcliffe – who sat down with The Times – these cuts are likely to translate into Amorim having enough money to reinforce his ranks ahead of next season.
Ratcliffe said, “This summer we will ‘buy’ Antony, Sancho, Casemiro, Martinez, Hojlund and Onana and they’re all about 17 million quid each. Because that’s what is outstanding. If we buy nobody else we’re buying those players.”
“But it will be a very profitable club. We believe that in three years’ time it will be the most profitable football club in the world. And it will be in a very, very different place. But we need to go through the change. Nobody likes change.”
“When you run out of cash in a business, you go and talk to the insolvency guys. In reality what you do is you go and raise some more money. You go and talk to the banks and try to renegotiate with the banks. Trust me, you don’t want to go there.”
“But that’s our job, isn’t it? You’ve got to look forward. You’re walking towards problems, so you get it sorted out. And we will sort it out.”
Asked whether United will be able to spend money while complying with financial regulations, Amorim answered, “The changes that we’ve made over this season, plus the ones that have been announced recently (more redundancies), will put us in a position to be able to do that.”
“At Ineos we run a lean organisation. As my mother said, you look after the pennies, the pounds look after themselves. We can sound flippant about free lunches but if you give all these perks, first class train fares, free taxis, it’s not coherent. It goes bust at Christmas.”
“We’ve made some really tough decisions and now we’re seeing staff understanding what we’re trying to do. There’s a clear vision of what we’re trying to achieve.”
Amorim and his players are back in action on Thursday when they face Real Sociedad in the second leg of their Europa League round of 16 fixture.
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
