IN a ‘tell-all’ interview with Gary Neville on Sky Sports’ ‘The Overlap’ Sir Jim Ratcliffe revealed the club would’ve gone ‘bust’ were it not for his intervention.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been owner of Manchester United for just over a year now. From the highs of an FA cup win against arch rivals Man City to the lows of presiding over quite literally the worst United team since the side were relegated in 1974, to call it a rollercoaster would be understatement.
Granted, a rollercoaster with far more downs than ups.
More recently however it’s the billionaire’s decisions off the pitch that have come into question. Staff cuts, redundancies and now the cancellation of free lunches, admittedly it doesn’t look for the new boss.
However, in a new interview with former red Gary Neville, Sir Jim gave an honest account of his tenure as owner and explained some of the reasons behind those decisions.
Answer: The Glazers. (There’s a shock none of you were expecting).
It’s clear that after 18 years of neglect and carelessness the circus that is the Glazer ownership of Manchester United is coming home to roost. For which Sir Jim is facing the consequences and receiving unparalleled criticism, culminating in protests before Sunday’s match against Arsenal.
Let me be clear, I’m not excusing Ratcliffe neither in fact am I defending him. Some of his decisions have been poor, and his words a ‘mistake’. They’ve made a once great sporting giant a laughing stock on the global stage.
But, it is the behaviour of those before him, for which he is now suffering.
Ratcliffe inherited a car crash. £700 million debt. £270 million in interest payments . £200 million worth of Glazer dividends taken out over 18 years, without a penny of Glazer money being seen.
Things have got so bad Ratcliffe himself revealed that the club would’ve gone ‘bust’ we’re in not for his doing. Ratcliffe also said that should United not buy any players in the summer they’d pay-off £89 million in fees still owed for players including: Sancho, Antony and Hojlund.
The stadium is about as secure as an empty crisp packet on a windy day and the training ground has not been touched since Tony Blair was in number 10.
The truth is simple: Sir Jim Ratcliffe might be fighting the fire, but it was the Glazers who lit the match. Until the last ember of their influence is extinguished, Manchester United’s future will remain as shaky as Old Trafford’s crumbling foundations.
