Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe has admitted that he is keen for Manchester United to emulate the same stature as one elite club in world football right now.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already taken a page out of Sir Alex Ferguson’s playbook and vowed to knock Manchester City and Liverpool ‘off their perch.’
The 71-year-old arrived as Manchester United co-owner after his minority stake purchase was ratified by the Premier League and by the Football Association.
Ratcliffe in 2023 outlined his desire to secure a minority stake purchase in the Premier League club, with United confirming a deal on Christmas Eve.
The British billionaire’s deal to become United co-owner included his Ineos team taking control of football operations at Old Trafford.
Ineos have already implemented behind-the-scenes changes at United, including bringing in key figures like Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox and Jean-Claude Blanc.
Ratcliffe and Co have also decided to stick with Erik ten Hag as United manager and talks over a new contract with the Dutchman are believed to be in the works.
The Ineos chief will inject £237m into the Premier League club for investment into Old Trafford as part of his deal to secure a stake in United.
Ratcliffe wants Man Utd to emulate one club
Speaking to Bloomberg, Sir Jim Ratcliffe revealed that his work at Manchester United is far from done and there is still major “room for improvement.”
He insisted that his mission is to take the Red Devils to the position where Real Madrid are at in world football, despite admitting it would take time to do so.
“There’s room for improvement everywhere we look at Manchester United, and we will improve everything,” Ratcliffe said.
“We want to be where Real Madrid is today, but it’ll take time.”
Real Madrid are redeveloping the iconic Santiago Bernabeu stadium as part of an eye-watering £860m project at the Spanish club.
Ratcliffe has previously outlined his bold ambitions for United’s stadium, including the idea of establishing a ‘Wembley of the North’ in England.
Madrid have also invested in their squad depth and captured high-profile signings, including Jude Bellingham in 2023 and Kyilan Mbappe in 2024.
Ratcliffe admitted that United lack the star power of Los Blancos, despite adding that one superstar “isn’t going to solve the problem at Manchester United.”
“Manchester United doesn’t have any players that are valued at €100 million or more,” he said.
Ratcliffe sends clear-cut warning to Premier League
Ratcliffe has made his feelings clear on the Premier League exerting too much power and warned them of the pushback they could receive from clubs.
“We’ve got more accountants than we’ve got sporting people at Manchester United,” he said.
“If you’re not careful, the Premier League is going to finish up spending more time in court than it is thinking about what’s good for the league.”
