The Man United minority owner, 72, sent a warning to fans over future progress
Ratcliffe said United 'was supposed to be one of the best clubs in the world'
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By NATHAN SALT
Published: 10:04 EST, 7 December 2024 | Updated: 10:08 EST, 7 December 2024
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has slammed Manchester United as a 'mediocre' football club that is paying the price for 'very poor' recruitment prior to Ineos coming in.
In a bombshell interview with fanzine United We Stand, Ratcliffe gave his verdict on the state of the club, as well as address the contentious decision to scrap concession ticket prices.
'The club has drifted for a long period of time, a decade or so. Manchester United has become mediocre,' he said.
'It's not elite and it is supposed to be one of the best football clubs in the world. That's what it used to be under Alex.
'There is major change to come to achieve elite status. But already there has been huge change at this club.'
Statement signings like the £82million spent on Antony and the £70m spent on Casemiro have previously been held up by Ineos as an example of United's misguided recruitment strategy.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, 72, has hit out at the state of Man United in a bombshell interview
United are paying the price for poor recruitment, according to the club's minority owner
Data analysis, too, is an area where Ratcliffe has been left astounded at how out of touch United have become compared to their rivals.
'Until were are as good as anyone in the world, then it's not good enough for Manchester United. We must have the best recruitment in the world,' the United minority owner said.
'Data analysis comes alongside recruitment. It doesn't really exist here. We're still in the last century on data analysis here.
'There's immense amount of useful data that we can get from data analysis and we're in the 'very poor' bracket with data analysis here. These things don't happen overnight.
'You can't just flick a light switch and sort out recruitment. It's all about people and we need to find the right people.'