Sir Jim Ratcliffe provides damning assessment of Man United’s squad ahead of Ruben Amorim’s arrival… despite spending around £200m on new players over the summer
- Ruben Amorim will take over as manager of Manchester United on November 11
- Erik ten Hag has spent around £600 million on new players in two and a half years
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Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe appeared to deliver a scathing assessment of his club’s first-team squad during a recent interview.
The 72-year-old chairman, CEO and founder of INEOS spoke to reporters in Barcelona last month, where he was pursuing sporting success with another of his sailing America’s Cup projects.
Ratcliffe’s INEOS Britannia team eventually lost 7–2 to Emirates Team New Zealand in the cup match.
But ahead of that defeat, Ratcliffe was asked if there was anything he could take from INEOS Britannia’s campaign that could help boost his football project at Old Trafford.
He responded by seemingly suggesting that the reason behind United’s poor performances in the Premier League in recent years was the lack of quality within the squad.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe oversees football operations at Manchester United through his company INEOS
Ratcliffe recently made a comment that seemed to suggest United’s squad wasn’t good enough
British billionaire businessman Ratcliffe was pictured at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon
“I think there is one little crossover, which is that you can’t win the America’s Cup unless you arrive at the America’s Cup with a boat that could win the America’s Cup,” Ratcliffe said.
‘Same in Formula 1. I mean, if you put Max Verstappen in a Williams, he’s not going to win a Formula 1 championship. And with football it is in a way the same with the team. That’s the parallel for me.
‘You can’t win anything in football if your team isn’t good enough to win anything. The quality of the team is a bit like the speed of the boat. That’s actually the only parallel.’
Just two weeks after this comment, Ratcliffe made the decision to sack United manager Erik ten Hag, before eventually hiring Ruben Amorim as his replacement.
Amorim will start at Old Trafford on November 11, after serving a notice period with current club Sporting Lisbon.
Until then, United will remain under the leadership of interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Ratcliffe recently fired Erik ten Hag before choosing Ruben Amorim (pictured) to replace him
Until Amorim arrives on November 11, Ruud van Nistelrooy will remain as interim manager
Ratcliffe took control of United’s football operations in February after striking a deal to buy a 27.7% stake in the Premier League club
Amorim will likely be keen to improve United’s squad through the transfer market.
However, United have already spent around £600 million on new players during Ten Hag’s two-and-a-half years in charge. That figure includes around £200m spent during Ratcliffe’s first transfer window this summer.
Seven of the eleven players who started for United against Chelsea on Sunday were contracted by Ten Hag. That game ended 1-1 after Moises Caicedo’s equalizer canceled out Bruno Fernandes’ converted penalty.
Sunday’s result leaves United thirteenth in the Premier League with just twelve points from their first ten games this season. Last season they finished eighth.
Van Nistelrooy now has two games left before he leaves for Amorim.
The Dutchman will oversee Thursday’s Europa League home match against FK Bodo/Glimt before ending his spell in the hotseat at Old Trafford three days later when United host Leicester in the Premier League.
