Division, redundancies and errors define Ratcliffe's two years at Man Utd

"To become co-owner of Manchester United is a great honour and comes with great responsibility," Sir Jim Ratcliffe said when he bought a 27.7 percent stake in February 2024. Two years on, his control of the club’s football operation has been marked by public rows and internal unrest.

His recent, factually incorrect comments on immigration put him at odds with fan groups and the club’s own All Red All Equal initiative, and they also drew criticism from Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, threatening goodwill around the proposed new stadium. Ratcliffe has admitted he made few friends through widespread changes, but many of his sporting decisions have backfired.

He undermined Erik ten Hag by exploring replacements, then extended Ten Hag’s contract only to sack him months later; the subsequent appointment of Ruben Amorim, despite concerns over his lack of Premier League experience and rigid 3-4-3 system, coincided with Dan Ashworth’s departure and produced a 32% win rate and the club’s lowest league finish in 51 years.

United Kingdom, Manchester

jim ratcliffe, manchester united, ten hag, ruben amorim, dan ashworth, all red, andy burnham, immigration, new stadium, lowest finish