Sir Jim Ratcliffe holds 25% of MU’s shares and is also the person who decides on football management issues at Old Trafford.
Last night (November 15), Man Utd announced important changes. Chief executive Richard Arnold steps down. That was the first move signaling changes for the Old Trafford team when new investor Jim Ratcliffe began to intervene.
As a son born and raised in Manchester, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has long loved Man Utd. Having to witness the team he loves struggling for many years makes the president of INEOS unable to sit still.
After the Middle Eastern owners withdrew from buying Man Utd, the billionaire with a total assets of 21 billion pounds was determined to create a revolution to change the face of the “Red Devils”, and at the same time bring this club back to life as soon as possible. back to the peak of glory.
Listen to Cristiano Ronaldo?
“When I returned to Man United in 2021, I was shocked, because everything, from the training ground and gym, was still the same as when I left in 2009,” Cristiano Ronaldo did not hesitate to attack the management in his interview. interviewed with Piers Morgan earlier this year.
Ronaldo’s complaint was not in vain because after this world-shaking interview, Man Utd’s leadership spent several million pounds to upgrade a number of items at Carrington. However, this move is just “a drop in the bucket”.
Both the Carrington complex and Old Trafford have been neglected for many years, leading to serious deterioration. Fans have repeatedly discovered rats running right at the “Theater of Dreams”. In major sporting events held in England recently, Man City’s Etihad Stadium is the stadium of choice. This is a strong “slap” to those who are in charge of management at Old Trafford.
Right from the time of negotiating to buy back 25% of Man United’s shares, Sir Jim Ratcliffe said directly that he would not call for investment or borrow money to build a new stadium for the red half of Manchester. Instead, this billionaire will spend 245 million pounds of his own money to renovate the facilities for his favorite team.
In addition to adding more items such as relaxation rooms and yoga rooms, the British billionaire also has the ambition to turn Old Trafford into the most majestic and modern stadium in the world. The home stadium of the “Red Devils” will have its capacity increased from more than 74,000 people to 90,000. In addition, he also wants to turn this place into a place with a harmonious combination of sports and entertainment.
The above amount of 245 million pounds is not related to the 1.4 billion pound purchase of Man United shares. Therefore, the “Red Devils” will not have to incur any additional debt.
Change from the top of the team
In addition to ensuring the future for Erik ten Hag, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s first move in rebuilding Man Utd was to change the management apparatus. CEO Richard Arnold was the first name to be removed, even though he had worked for Man Utd for 16 years and helped the team earn many lucrative contracts.
Patrick Stewart, general counsel of Man Utd, will be temporarily appointed to replace Richard Arnold. In addition, technical director Darren Fletcher is also about to leave his position due to not contributing to team management.
Not stopping there, Man Utd’s minority shareholders also want to remove John Murtough, who is taking on the role of football director. During his two years in office, Murtough failed to fulfill his duties of scouting and supporting the first team.
The contracts Man Utd has recently owned are not worth the money, notably the cases of Jadon Sancho (85 million euros), Antony (95 million euros), Raphael Varane (40 million euros). Spending 70 million euros to buy a player over 30 like Casemiro also made Jim Ratcliffe unhappy.
Ratcliff will install a number of his confidants to facilitate management, notably Sir Dave Brailsford, who is doing a good job at the Sky cycling team and Ligue 1 football club, Nice.
Man Utd will focus on discovering and recruiting players with long-term value, instead of spending money betting on stars, then having to sell them at a loss or lose them all after a short time. .
The Man Utd reconstruction plan was prepared by Ratcliffe and his colleagues over a long period of time. With what has happened, is happening and is about to happen, “Red Devils” fans have the right to hope that the team will soon close the gap in level with Man City and Liverpool.