Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has given a scathing assessment of the squad, suggesting that the current players are not good enough to challenge for top honours.
In February, Ratcliffe completed his 27.7% investment in the club, and since then, the INEOS billionaire has been on a mission to drive change. He has already established a top-tier football structure, bringing in leaders like Omar Berrada as CEO, Dan Ashworth as Sporting Director, Christopher Vivell as Director of Recruitment, and Jason Wilcox as Technical Director.
There are also plans underway for either the refurbishment of Old Trafford or the construction of a brand-new world-class arena. A final decision on this is expected before the turn of the year.
Since his arrival at United, Ratcliffe has never shied away from expressing just how far United have fallen in recent years, both on and off the pitch.
In perhaps his strongest remarks yet, the British businessman has suggested that the stars currently on the club’s books are not good enough to compete at the highest level.
Ratcliffe spoke after INEOS-backed team Britannia performed well at the 2024 America’s Cup.
He was asked if there are any lessons from team Britannia’s success in sailing that could be applied at United.
Ratcliffe replied, “I think there’s one little crossover, which is that you cannot win the Americas Cup if you arrive at the Americas Cup with a boat that could win the Americas Cup.”
“Same in Formula One. Max Verstappen in a Williams, he’s not going to win the Formula One Championship.”
“With football, it’s the same with the squad in a way. That’s the parallel for me. You can’t win anything in football if your squad isn’t good enough to win something.”
“The quality of the squad is a bit like the speed of the boat. That’s the only parallel [between football and sailing].”