Sir Jim Ratcliffe has pinpointed Liverpool as the perfect example for Manchester United as he looks to rebuild the club
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Manchester United minority shareholder Jim Ratcliffe with Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak (right) during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Manchester United FC at Etihad Stadium on December 15, 2024
Manchester United minority shareholder Jim Ratcliffe with Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak (right) during the Premier League match between at the Etihad Stadium on December 15, 2024
(Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Sir Jim Ratcliffe admits Manchester United are trying to follow Liverpool's model as they plot their way back to the top of the Premier League. United have endured a horrific season, sacking Erik ten Hag in October having backed the Dutchman to the tune of £180m and handed him a new contract in the summer, before hiring Ruben Amorim.
They currently sit 14th in the table on just 34 points, with Amorim struggling to make an impact since arriving from Sporting Lisbon.
Ratcliffe has also embarked on a cost-cutting exercise, announcing numerous redundancies at the club and cutting funding to the former player associations and ending free lunches for Old Trafford workers. He also hired Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth after a protracted chase, only to part ways with him months later.
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Nevertheless, Ratcliffe insists United are pressing ahead with their ambitions to win the Premier League title in 2028, a plan labelled 'Project 150' as it coincides with the club's 150th anniversary in three years' time.
And the billionaire pointed to Liverpool's success under Fenway Sports Group and their appointment of Michael Edwards as sporting director and Jurgen Klopp as manager as an example for United to follow as they look to rebuild the club.
He said: "You have to set an objective, right? So you focus everybody’s minds on where you’re trying to get to and it can’t just be open-ended.
“We’re going to try to win the Premier League. We want to do it within a certain time frame and we want to focus all of our efforts and energy on trying to achieve that. That’s ultimately the point.”
He added: “Liverpool is quite a good example on timing, where Jurgen Klopp arrived in 2015 and they had Michael Edwards [as sporting director] and Ian Graham [as director of research].
“The process of rebuilding the squad in Liverpool started in the summer of ’15, they rebuilt the squad in ’15, ’16, ’17 and ’18 and then in the next three years they won everything.”