[Manchester United](https://thebusbybabe.sbnation.com)’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday saw Bruno Fernandes score a really nice free-kick goal. It was another moment of quality from the captain that set him apart from many of his teammates, and certainly the club hasn’t found a transfer target of greater or even equal quality since his arrival in 2020.
Club minority owner Jim Ratcliffe took to the studio once again to address some of these deals amid criticism over his club management, seemingly blaming layoffs and cost-cutting measures on the poor investments in recent years, though without naming his co-owners, the Glazer family.
The interview dropped a day after a protest numbering in the thousands outside and inside of Old Trafford on Sunday, continuing calls from fans for removing the Glazers after 20 years in charge.
“It takes time for us to move away from the past into a new place in the future,” Ratcliffe said to [BBC Sport.](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c7571gng06wo)
Though Ratcliffe praised Bruno after his performance, he name-dropped several others, including players still playing at United.
“If you look at the players we are buying this summer, that we didn’t buy, we’re buying Antony, we’re buying Casemiro, we’re buying Onana, we’re buying Hojlund, we’re buying Sancho,” he said. “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.”
Ratcliffe did confirm that Ruben Amorim is here for the long haul, putting concerns to rest after a difficult midseason arrival for the new manager. He also downplayed the notion that the club would be selling budding academy graduates Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo to help balance the books.
Still, it was a bit of an odd deflection in reaction to the protests. Ratcliffe insisted the club would be going under without changes, which is an alarming assessment of the club’s finances.
In a way, the transparency is at least a show of honesty from an ownership group that has communicated very little with fans over the last two decades. Still, it is a bit odd and somewhat worrying to be throwing players under the bus while they’re still on the team. Hojlund has a clear confidence issue, Andre Onana has been up and down, and Casemiro is almost certainly on his way out, but there are still three months of the season left to play.
Was it right? Is the bluntness welcome or unwelcome? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.