Manchester United: towards a big change with Jim Ratcliffe

Manchester United will want to start the new year in a better way than they finished 2023, this Monday January 8 against Wigan in the FA Cup. Fortunately for them, 2024 is bound to be different. His supporters have been waiting for a long time for the arrival of a new face on the United “Board” and it’s not just anyone. Jim Ratcliffe, a multi-billionaire well known in the sporting world for his actions in cycling, Formula 1 and more recently in football at OGC Nice, arrives with great aspirations for the club. “Our shared ambition is clear: we all want to see Manchester United where they belong, at the top of English, European and world football,” the Briton said on the club website. The ideas are clear and we should (finally) see movement in the north of England.

The Glazer siblings running the Red Devils since 2014 and the death of their father Malcolm Glazer share ownership between the six of them. Avram, Joel, Kevin, Bryan, Edward and their sister Darcie, all are challenged by their members for their questionable management of sports policy, and will have to make room for a newcomer. In the takeover press release it is stated that: “As part of the transaction, Ineos has accepted a request from the board of directors to be delegated responsibility for the management of the club's football operations”, meaning that the billionaire does not come to make up the numbers and will be an active member of the decision-making process.

Its new co-owner is above all a supporter of the club, and moreover 5 years ago, Jim Ratcliffe spoke in The Times and was already one of the opponents. “They had the wrong coaches, they bought indiscriminately. They threw money out the window, on players like Fred for example,” said the businessman about the 50M euros spent on the arrival of the Brazilian Fred in 2018. It must be said that the brothers do not all have the same degree of investment in the Mancunian project. Only Joel and Avram have the roles of co-presidents, while the others are content with a leadership role, and put their energy into another type of football on the other side of the Atlantic (NFL). So, one could imagine that the 71-year-old man will take an important place at the expense of the six brothers and sister, in short, he will have some cleaning to do...

Eliminated in last place in their Champions League group and eighth in the standings, you would think that Erik Ten Hag would be the number one target for a “probable reshuffle”. However, the Dutch coach declared that he had spoken with the club's new shareholder and did not seem to question it. “It was very positive I must say. We had a long meeting, we sat for several hours, and we are on the same line on many points, so it was very positive,” he explained at a press conference. However, a personnel change had already taken place last November, with the replacement of general manager Richard Arnold by a certain Jean-Claude Blanc, formerly of PSG and current CEO of Ineos Sport.

And this reshuffle will continue according to the Telegraph, since Ratcliffe would like to poach former Liverpool sporting director Julian Ward while we are in the middle of the transfer period. The new kid is not idle and many players such as Casemiro, Sancho and even Varane have been labeled as unwanted. If for the moment, there has been no announcement concerning very large transfers, we will surely have to wait for the next transfer windows before seeing in action the one who criticized Mancunian recruitment in 2019.

But that doesn't mean that the founder of Ineos won't put his hand in his pocket. In the agreement for the acquisition of Ratcliffe's shares, it is also specified that: "Sir Jim Ratcliffe, will acquire 25% of the class B shares of Manchester United and up to 25% of the class A shares of Manchester United, and will provide an additional $300 million to enable future investment at Old Trafford.” 300 million which will be used to renovate Manchester United's infrastructure. Old Trafford almost stands out next to the very comfortable Etihad Stadium of neighbors Manchester City and will be modernized in the same way as the legendary Carrington training center. News which should please Cristiano Ronaldo, who criticized when he left Man U its obsolete facilities slowing down the development of young players but also the progress of the first team according to him.

The supporters were demanding it and finally, movement will take place at the Theater of Dreams, which has become the club's fans' nightmare for too long now. But be patient, Jim Ratcliffe is aware of the great challenge that awaits him: “I am quite cautious, but you only live once and if you want more in life, you have to know how to impose personal challenges on yourself. »