Sir Jim Ratcliffe was refreshingly candid about how long it will take to make Manchester United competitive again and able to compete for the big prizes.
Ratcliffe, now in charge of football operations at United after spending £1.3billion to acquire a 27.7 per cent stake in the club, reckons it will take at least three years to turn the team's fortunes around. Last season was a nadir for United and their fans, with a lowest-ever Premier League finish of eighth and a meek group stage exit from the Champions League.
A miserable campaign, against a backdrop of unprecedented injuries, did end on a high with victory over local rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup, which clinched United a Europa League place. That win effectively kept Erik ten Hag in a job, only after Ratcliffe and his coterie spoke to a host of potential replacements, before deciding to stick with the 54-year-old Dutchman – for now at least.
Despite the euphoria of the FA Cup and the revenue streams European football will bring next season, Ratcliffe knows United have a huge task to get to the level of City, Arsenal and the rest of the best teams in Europe, with the club having failed to challenge for the Premier League in the 11 years since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down after delivering his 13th league title.
In a wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg, INEOS billionaire Ratcliffe outlined his strategy for making United great again, warning the club's estimated one billion global fanbase there will be no quick fixes and calling for patience as he and his team begin their overhaul of the club and tackle their first transfer window. "I’m not confident that we’ll solve all the problems in the first transfer window,” said Ratcliffe. “It will take two or three summer windows to get to a better place.”
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With technical director Jason Wilcox the only new member of the football executive team currently in place, with new CEO Omar Berrada starting next month and incoming sporting director Dan Ashworth still on gardening leave at Newcastle, Ratcliffe admitted United have been restricted in what they can undertake this summer. “We’re sort of a bit handicapped in that sense,” said Ratcliffe. “So I think we’ll do a fairly good job.”
The financial constraints imposed by the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules mean United are restricted – like all clubs – in what they can spend this summer, their initial budget of around £50million needing to be supplemented by player sales to raise the revenue to improve the squad with new signings.
Man United are hindered because Newcastle won't allow Dan Ashworth to become their sporting director (Richard Lee/REX/Shutterstock)With those spending limits and with Ratcliffe still assembling his new football leadership team, he is acutely aware that United's re-emergence as a major football force will be a long-term process, one that will require patience from fans and everyone within the club.
“There's room for improvement everywhere we look at Manchester United, and we will improve everything,” said Ratcliffe. "We want to be where Real Madrid is today, but it'll take time.”
With three European Cups to Real Madrid's 15, United have some way to go to catch up with the Spanish giants. But turning United into a side able to compete with the likes of Real is Ratcliffe's sole aim, with the focus now wholly on the football side at a club where business, revenue and commercial targets have been allowed to take precedence over what happens on the pitch for far too long.
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