Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has called the club “mediocre” and admitted more “difficult and unpopular decisions” are needed to improve things at Old Trafford.
In a candid interview with fanzine United We Stand, Ratcliffe also defended the club’s decision to price all remaining tickets for home games this season at £66, regardless of the buyer’s age – a move that has come under criticism from supporters.
United said the price change would only apply to the 3% of tickets not yet sold.
I was annoyed with ticket prices midweek and set about speaking to SJR. I was supposed to meet in Oct, but didn’t. So I met him on Thurs and questioned him on many issues for 36 mins for the next uws mag. Out v Forest.
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Subscribe by Tues https://t.co/nk9S7caPp0 pic.twitter.com/hfPQjhvRd5— Andy Mitten (@AndyMitten) November 30, 2024
Ratcliffe, the 72-year-old INEOS CEO who became minority owner of the Red Devils nearly 12 months ago, also took aim at United’s recruitment and data analysis in recent years.
“To get Manchester United to where we need to get it — it’s a bit like the country,” said Ratcliffe.
“We have to make some difficult and unpopular decisions. If you shy away from the difficult decisions then nothing much is going to change.
“We won’t get everything right and it won’t happen overnight, but we haven’t been sat on our hands for nine months.
“We still have a long way to go and we still have a number of difficult decisions to make but we have to do that for the better. The club has drifted for a long period of time, a decade or so.
“Manchester United has become mediocre. It’s not elite and it is supposed to be one of the best football clubs in the world. That’s what it used to be under Alex.
“There is major change to come to achieve elite status. There has already been huge change.”
Responding to the ticket-price criticism, Ratcliffe said: “I understand that,” he said. “I was brought up on a council estate in Manchester.
“I don’t want to end up in a position where the genuine local fans can’t afford to come but I do want to optimise the ticketing.
“We need to find a balance – and you can’t be popular all the time either. Here, we are talking about 3% of the tickets. I don’t think it makes sense for a Manchester United ticket to cost less than a ticket to see Fulham.”
Despite handing former manager Erik ten Hag a year extension on his contract in the summer, United replaced the Dutchman last month with Ruben Amorim following a disappointing start to the campaign.
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— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 7, 2024
And Ratcliffe admitted changes are needed behind the scenes to get the club back to its former glory days.
“We’ve not been good enough at recruitment,” said Ratcliffe.
“And until we’re as good as anyone in the world, then it’s not good enough for Manchester United.
“Data analysis comes alongside recruitment. It doesn’t really exist here. We’re still in the last century on data analysis here.
“There’s immense amount of useful data that we can get from data analysis and we’re in the ‘very poor’ bracket with data analysis here. These things don’t happen overnight.
“You can’t just flick a light switch and sort out recruitment. It’s all about people and we need to find the right people.”
United are currently 13th in the Premier League having lost five of their 14 league games this term.
