Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has revealed he would leave the club if he’s subjected to the same level of abuse as the Glazer family.
United fans have long opposed the Glazers and pressure has ramped up recently with the side currently 14th and set for their worst ever Premier League campaign.
Thousands of fans took part in protests against the Glazers before the Premier League home game against Arsenal at Old Trafford last weekend as they closed on them to give up their control of the club which is costing United millions more in interest payments.
‘It’s your debt, not ours’ was one of the chants sang by protesters. Other chants cited recent price rises to £66 per ticket, with Ratcliffe blasted as well as the Glazer family, who have owned United since 2004.
Ratcliffe, who bought 27.7% stake in the club in February 2024, says the Americans have ‘retreated into the shadows’ since his arrival.
In an interview with the Times, the British billionaire said: ‘So, eventually, if it reached the extent that the Glazer family have been abused, then I’d have to say, look, enough’s enough guys, let somebody else do this.
‘They can’t really come to a match, the Glazers. They’ve retreated into the shadows a bit now, so I’m getting all the bloody stick.
‘We bought in and I haven’t seen them since. It’s, “Thank you, Jim, you’re doing a really good job.”
‘At the moment, I don’t have security, I don’t have to walk around like that. But it would defeat the object, wouldn’t it? You couldn’t tolerate it at that level, it just wouldn’t be fun.’
Earlier this week Ratcliffe named the stars who are costing United millions as he laid bare the chronic overspending that has dragged the club to the brink of oblivion.
Ratcliffe revealed that United still owe money on Jadon Sancho, Casemiro, Antony, Rasmus Hojlund, Lisandro Martinez and Andre Onana, admitting that some of them are ‘overpaid’ or not good enough to play for the club.
Ratcliffe publicly outed the players who continue to cost United in transfer instalments, admitting it was a situation he ‘inherited’ after investing £1.3billion in the club.
The 72-year-old said: ‘This summer, we will ‘buy’ Antony, we’ll ‘buy’ Sancho, we’ll ‘buy’ Casemiro, we’ll ‘buy’ Martinez, we’ll ‘buy’ Hojlund, we’ll ‘buy’ Onana, and they’re all about £17m each.
‘If we buy nobody, we’re buying those players. It’s not a light switch (that can be turned off).
‘These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we’ve inherited those things and have to sort that out.
‘For Sancho, who now plays for Chelsea and we pay half his wages, we’re paying £17m to buy him in the summer.
‘Some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid, but for us to mould the squad that we are fully responsible for, and accountable for, will take time.
‘We’ve got this period of transformation where we move from the past to the future.
‘There are some great players in the squad. As we know, the captain is fabulous. We definitely need Bruno (Fernandes), he’s a fantastic footballer.’
Ratcliffe has set about saving money at United by implementing a raft of cuts that include axing up to 450 jobs and scrapping free lunches for staff.
But he defended his policies in the strongest terms, warning that United could have gone out of business had he not taken steps to avert disaster.
‘The simple answer is the club runs out of money at Christmas if we don’t do those things,’ he added. ‘If you spend more than you earn eventually that’s the road to ruin. Manchester United had gone off the rails a long way. If you look at the numbers, they were fairly scary because they had lost control of where the ship was headed. And the costs had got out of control.
‘In super-simple terms the club has been spending more money than it has been earning for the last seven years, including this year. If you do that for a prolonged period of time it ends up in a very difficult place, and, for Manchester United, that place ended at the end of this year.
‘At the end of 2025, Manchester United would have run out of cash. That is the first time we have ever said that in public, but that is the fact of the matter.’
