Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford made a joint appearance to address all Manchester United staff en masse at Old Trafford this week while waiting for the Premier League to ratify the INEOS owner’s £1.3billion investment. However, despite not being officially in control of football operations yet, British billionaire Ratcliffe has already done something the Glazers haven’t done since the American family’s 2005 takeover.
Ratcliffe promised six things that will offer genuine optimism that his impending United shake-up will finally stop the rot under the Glazer regime.
Ratcliffe emphasized that he is in this for the glory, and was reportedly insistent that he wasn’t at all concerned about making a profitable return on the inflated price he paid to get a foot in the door at the club he has supported since growing up in the nearby town of Failsworth.
He did acknowledge that the Glazers will continue to control United’s commercial power under the new structure, while all footballing operations will be under his purview and control.
The British tycoon displayed a candor that was as refreshing as it was appealing, besides also being totally different from the disposition of former chief executive Richard Arnold – apparently in a state of denial – when the latter told staff in September that United were closing the gap on Manchester City despite watching their rivals match their treble success just months before.
Ratcliffe’s mentality was clearly world’s apart and this drew applause from those in attendance for the honest, straight-talking nature of his assessment of the club’s failures in recent times.
The British billionaire underlined his determination to get to the bottom of United’s lackluster output despite boasting bigger budgets than thriving European heavyweights.
At a glance it was clear that the United staff were impressed by the way Ratcliffe was able to apply pressure to perform while being able to encourage them at the same time to be a part of that change.
Ratcliffe also confirmed that he plans to make major improvements to Old Trafford and the club’s Carrington training complex, reportedly confirming that his initial £237m investment into United’s infrastructure, which will be converted into equity, is just the beginning of his financial backing.
Ratcliffe and Brailsford pledged to be present with their hands-on involvement at the club during the INEOS era, alongside Jean-Claude Blanc and Rob Nevin, who join the latter in having seats on the board.
For the time being, INEOS’ communication will remain limited until they officially take control at United when the Premier League passes the £1.3bn deal.
Ratcliffe mentioned that he and Brailsford would go into further detail about their plans and aims when that time comes.
Obviously now there is a lot for United supporters and staff to be excited about at Old Trafford.