Sir Jim Ratcliffe says “mediocre” Manchester United are “like the country” as the Red Devils co-owner defended his “unpopular decisions” that have sparked anger in the fanbase.
Ratcliffe became the minority shareholder of the Premier League giants at the start of the year and has overseen controversial changes at Old Trafford including bringing Sir Alex Ferguson’s ambassadorial role to an end and laying off 250 members of staff.
The latest cost-cutting measure has seen ticket price rise to £66 per match without concessions for children or pensioners.
The decision led to a protest ahead last weekend’s clash with Everton with United claiming in a statement that the price hikes were part of wider measures aiming to put the club ‘on a stronger financial footing’.
Ratcliffe spoke to the United We Stand fanzine to clarify the club’s position further, likening his “unpopular decisions” to those currently being made by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
He said: “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.
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“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.”
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United last won the Premier League in 2013 and posted net losses of £113.2million for the 12 months ending June 30, 2024.
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.”
