Manchester United have already spent a substantial amount on transfers in the 2025 summer transfer window, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has revealed.
The problem is, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe lays out, the money assigned in the budget for the deals is for players Manchester United already own.
Ratcliffe was detailing Manchester United’s severe financial problems, which left the club set to run out of cash in 2025 until a recent restructure.
The Red Devils investor has been speaking to Gary Neville around a series of issues at the club, one of which is the club’s payment-plan transfer dealings.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Manchester United have already spent £89m this summer
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has explained that Manchester United are spending money to pay installments for players the club already own.
And at least two of them are players Manchester United are now actively trying to sell.
He explained via The Overlap: “We’re paying for, Antony, we’re buying Antony this summer.
“We’re buying Sancho this summer. We’re buying Hojlund and we’re buying Casemiro. We’re buying Onana.”
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Antony and Sancho are players United are attempting to sell, there is an agreement with Chelsea in place for the latter to depart for £25 million, which will help to balance the books.
Casemiro is a player United would like to get off the club’s wage bill, while an out of form Rasmus Hojlund is not immune to being sold, and nor is goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Ratcliffe admits it is not ideal to still be committing money to transfers that in some cases were made several years ago. Speaking to Gary Neville, he said: “In your day, you’ve bought a player, and that was it, wasn’t it.”
The Ineos supremo would not be drawn on the total amount United owe in transfer fees – but did have a precise figure for summer 2025.
He said: “I don’t know the exact number. I know the bill that we will pay this summer is £89 million for players United signed previously.”
£89 million is also coincidentally the figure Manchester United once spent on record signing Paul Pogba back in 2016.
Ratcliffe prepared to be unpopular to turn United around
The money assigned for transfers in advance is one United have prepared for, but it is clearly not ideal.
It is consistent with the debt hanging over the club’s head, which creates a challenging remit for Ratcliffe and Ineos to wade through, without taking tough decisions.
Ratcliffe is aware decisions like redundancies make him unpopular, and this is a factor he is prepared to live with, in the hope he can come out the other site with perception changed.
He explained: “It is always uncomfortable, isn’t it? Human beings don’t like change. They like the status quo. They much prefer people stick that in some and just assume it’ll go away, but it won’t.
“Change requires some unpopular decisions, and I think I have to accept that I’m going to be unpopular.
“I don’t know how long I’ll be unpopular. Maybe I’ll be unpopular for a long period of time, but I think it’s worth being unpopular to fight our way through the changes that are necessary to get Manchester United back to where it should be.
“And hopefully the attitudes will change a bit if we come out the other side with a successful outcome.”