Ratcliffe rules out Manchester United spending big ‘on couple of great players’
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has said Manchester United will not be trying to land superstar signings such as Jude Bellingham or Kylian Mbappé.
The Ineos chairman has taken control of footballing operations at United after his minority shareholding purchase and wants to turn them back into the force they once were. However, he believes spending big on marquee signings is not the way to prosper.
Appearing as a guest on the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast, the 71-year-old was asked whether he would try to sign Bellingham. He replied: “He is a great footballer. It’s not where our focus is; the solution isn’t spending a lot of money on a couple of great players.
“They have done that, if you look at the last 10 years, they have spent a lot of money on a couple of great players. The first thing we need to do is get the right people in the right boxes who are managing and organising the club. And make sure we get recruitment right, it is such a vital part of football today.”
Later he was given a choice of signing Mbappé for United or the cyclist Tadej Pogacar for his Ineos team and he said: “I would rather sign the next Mbappé rather than spend a fortune buying success. It’s not that clever buying Mbappé. Anyone could figure that one out. More challenging is to find the next Mbappé or next Bellingham or next Roy Keane.”
Ratcliffe praised the patience Arsenal have shown with Mikel Arteta when questioned on who could win the Premier League this season. United have to decide whether to stand by Erik ten Hag as their manager.
Asked who he would like to see finish as champions, Ratcliffe jokingly said of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United: “I hate them all … they’re all the enemy.” He went on to say of a prospective Arsenal title win: “It would be good for Arteta actually. It would be good for him because he’s done really well and Arsenal have been patient with him, which is nice as well.”
Ratcliffe said United could have a 100,000-capacity stadium if they push ahead with plans to build a new ground rather than develop Old Trafford. “If you built a completely new ground it would absolutely be state-of-the-art, world class, 90,000 or maybe even 100,000,” he said. “And that then provides a platform for some of the big competition in the north of England.”
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Radcliffe is working with his long-term right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford at United, with Omar Berrada incoming as chief executive. “The two people who are most focused on it would be Dave and myself, in terms of how we resolve it all,” he said. “We’ve now got Omar Berrada of course, our new CEO from Manchester City, who is still on gardening leave at the moment, he’ll be a big part of it. But it’s Dave and myself really.”