Sir Jim Ratcliffe: ‘Bankrupt’ Man Utd not a big club now

Carlo Garganese

Updated: 11 Mar 2025 06:39 GMT
4 min read

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has defended his controversial cost-cutting measures at Man Utd after a series of redundancies throughout the club.

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Ratcliffe has argued that had he not made the decision to lay off so many Man Utd staff over the last year that the club would have gone bankrupt by the end of 2025.

United made 250 club employees redundant last year and have recently confirmed that the latest redundancy scheme will see another 150-200 club jobs disappear.

What did Ratcliffe say?

"I don't enjoy reading the newspaper very much these days I have to say," Ratcliffe told the BBC.

"I know it's unpopular, and this period of change is uncomfortable for people, and some of the decisions we have to make are unpleasant.

"But they are necessary to put Manchester United back on to a stable footing. If people want to see Manchester United winning trophies again then we have do all this stuff.

"Manchester United would have run out of cash by the end of this year - by the end of 2025 - after having me put $300m (£232.72m) in and if we buy no new players in the summer.

"We are in the process of change and it's an uncomfortable period and disruptive and I do feel sympathy with the fans. The simple answer is the club runs out of money at Christmas if we don't do those things."

Ratcliffe's austerity has caused great anger among Man Utd staff and fans.

There have been shocking stories shared of staff who have worked at Man Utd for decades, only to be unceremoniously let go with just days - and sometimes hours - notice.

The canteen has been closed down and even free cereal bars withdrawn from stewards.

Ratcliffe has been painted by the media as a Scrooge-like figure who is targetting the working class at Man Utd, while the highly-paid and under-performing players and directors at the club continue to be paid handsomely.

The much-maligned part-owner of United also added that he now sees Man Utd as a mid-table club, which will surely not go down well with supporters.

"I think Ruben has done an excellent job," said Ratcliffe.

"If I look at the salary bill of the squad that's available to him, that salary bill is not the salary bill of Manchester City or Liverpool, it's a fraction of it.

"If you look at the salary bill of the players that are available to him that are not injured, or not out on loan, then our salary bill ranks us about, you know, middling, second half of the table."

Man Utd have endured another disastrous season on the pitch under Ratcliffe with the club down in 14th position in the Premier League. They drew 1-1 with Arsenal in a more positive result on Sunday.