Ratcliffe SLAMS Man Utd players: 'Not good enough and overpaid'

Tom Weber

10 Mar 2025 19:08 GMT
4 min read

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Man Utd, INEOS — © IMAGO

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has hit out at Manchester United's players, some of whom are 'not good enough and overpaid.'

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Britain's wealthiest man acquired a stake in his favourite club a year ago with the aim of returning Man Utd to their place in the sun. However, so far, there has been little success to speak of.

Despite winning the FA Cup last season, Man Utd slumped to their worst finish in the Premier League era. That record could already be broken again this term, with the side currently in 14th.

Bizarre personnel decisions have seen the Red Devils waste millions. Erik ten Hag's contract was extended only to sack him, while the club spent ages pursuing sporting director Dan Ashworth just to part ways 'by mutual consent' months later.

Amid all of this sporting upheaval, Ratcliffe has implemented a draconian austerity regime, cutting some 450 jobs, decreasing funding for charity and even axing free lunches for employees.

Ratcliffe on the state of Man Utd

Now, the INEOS billionaire has given a lengthy interview to the BBC in which he addressed the current state of Man Utd. On the topic of cutting costs, he said: "Where do you want to spend the money?

"Do you want to spend it on operating the club or do you want to spend it on the squad? Because if you spend it on the squad, you get better results. At the end of the day, what is Man Utd here for if not to win trophies and silverware?

"What we want to do is invest in the best players in the world - if we can - rather than spend it on, I'm afraid, free lunches... The losses are because the club's just been spending money needlessly. We've got a body language consultant, there's all sorts of stuff we're spending money on that we don't need to be spending money on."

Regarding transfer business, Ratcliffe insisted that it would take a while to undo the mistakes of the past. "We're buying Antony, we're buying Casemiro, we're buying [Andre] Onana, we're buying [Rasmus] Hojlund, we're buying [Jadon] Sancho.

"These are all things from the past. We've inherited those things and we have to sort it out. You know for Sancho, who now obviously plays for Chelsea and we pay half his wages, we're paying £70 million to buy in the summer.

"It takes time for us to move away from the past and to a new place in the future... Some [players] are not good enough, some probably are overpaid. But for us to mould the squad that we're fully responsible and accountable for will take time."