Manchester United: Sir Jim Ratcliffe lifts lid on fan abuse, Ed Woodward and his relationship with the Glazer family
In an interview with The Times, Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has revealed what it's like to deal with abuse, his Glazers relationship and why previous management failed; watch Leicester vs Man Utd live on Sky Sports Premier League from 6.30pm on Sunday; kick-off 7pm
Sunday 16 March 2025 09:48, UK
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has lifted the lid on what has been just over a year of turbulence with INEOS in charge at Old Trafford.
In a revealing interview with The Times columnist Martin Samuel, United co-owner Ratcliffe discussed what it is like to deal with abuse, his relationship with the Glazer family and the mistakes of former CEO Ed Woodward.
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'If abuse reached Glazer levels, I'd step down'
Ratcliffe said: "It [the abuse] can be unpleasant. And I've probably failed on the having fun front. I mean, I can put up with it for a while. I don't mind being unpopular because I get that nobody likes seeing Manchester United down where they are, and nobody likes the decisions we're having to make at the moment. If I draw a bit of the ire, I can put up with that. But I'm no different to the average person. It's not nice, particularly for friends and family.
"So, eventually, if it reached the extent that the Glazer family have been abused, then I'd have to say, look, enough is enough guys, let somebody else do this. They can't really come to a match, the Glazers. They've retreated into the shadows a bit now, so I'm getting all the bloody stick.
"We bought in and I haven't seen them since. It's, 'Thank you, Jim, you're doing a really good job.' At the moment, I don't have security, I don't have to walk around like that. But it would defeat the object, wouldn't it? You couldn't tolerate it at that level, it just wouldn't be fun.
"The first thing Sir Alex Ferguson said to me was that the shirt can be too heavy, It applies to everyone here really, the coach, the players - the owner. It's turning me into an old man. It's hard to do the interviews. On camera for 40 minutes, one cock-up and you're legendary for it."
'I don't know why we bought Man Utd'
Asked why he decided to buy Man Utd, it was a question Ratcliffe found difficult to answer.
He said: "I can't honestly answer why we did it. It's quite a difficult question. With Nice, in the French league, you can buy a club for £100m. It's much cheaper access. But I don't particularly enjoy going to watch Nice because there are some good players but the level of football is not high enough for me to get excited."
'The Glazers are passionate about Man Utd'
On the Glazers, Ratcliffe said: "To be fair to the Glazers, they're really good on the commercial side. The people who advise me say the fans don't want to hear it. So I've got to be cautious. I get a lot of criticism if I support the Glazers, but the fact is they're really decent people.
"They're East Coast, you know - that old East Coast America, they're very polite, they're very civilized, they're the nicest people on the planet. There isn't a bad bone in Joel Glazer's body. Part of the problem is there isn't a bad bone in his body.
"We have a very professional partnership with the Glazer family. They're really honest and straightforward, not what you expect when you read about them in the press. And they're both [Avram and Joel - the most involved in the club] passionate about Manchester United. I like them as people - to be honest, they could have given us a bloody hard time, couldn't they, after we cocked up with Dan Ashworth and Erik ten Hag? Could have, but didn't."
'Woodward didn't have the credentials to lead Man Utd'
However, Ratcliffe was critical of decisions made by previous management at Old Trafford.
"I wouldn't have tolerated Ed Woodward or Richard Arnold. Richard was a rugby man, he didn't even understand football. Ed didn't have the credentials to manage the club. He was a merchant banker and an accountant. He wasn't the chief executive.
"The way I look at it is that you had two management teams at Manchester United for the past 12 years who did a poor job because the owners weren't like, say, Steve Parish [Crystal Palace] and Daniel Levy [Tottenham Hotspur], they weren't really into the details.
"The owners just managed the club and left the football side alone and they've made a lot of very poor decisions over 12 years, stupid things.
"They made a complete cock-up of it, shocking really. They couldn't see where they were headed. The first management group thought they understood and wanted to get involved in buying footballers but they didn't have the knowledge to buy footballers so they went in the marketplace, spraying money around and it was just random."
Ratcliffe believes the club are on the right path under INEOS' direction but does not think they will get there "without making more mistakes" but vowed to "step down" if he fails, although he claimed "I don't think I'll fail."
Fernandes on Ratcliffe: It's not nice to hear certain things
Prior to his interview in The Times, Ratcliffe suggested some players are "overpaid" in a string of interviews during the week in which he offered strong opinions on the club, including the standard of the squad.
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes admitted "it's not nice to hear certain things" from Ratcliffe.
In a string of interviews this week, Ratcliffe offered strong opinions on the club, including the standard of the squad.
"Some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid, but for us to mould the squad that we are fully responsible for and accountable for will take time," said Ratcliffe.
When asked about Ratcliffe's comments that he made during the week, Fernandes said: "It's not nice to hear certain things, obviously.
"I don't think any player likes to hear criticism or things that are talked about; that you're not good enough or you're overpaid or whatever.
"Everyone has their own contract. The club agrees to the contracts at the time you come here, or at the time you do a new contract, and it's about proving that you can be important for the club.
"We can't relax at this club. There's a big standard, a big attention that you get from the media. You need to realise that sometimes you need to put your focus on your game, trying to improve yourself."
