Stefan Borson
Sun 16 March 2025 18:42, UK
Manchester United have made little progress since Sir Jim Ratcliffe took over the footballing operations in February last year.
The INEOS chief has faced intense scrutiny following his efforts to cut costs at Old Trafford over the past few months.
Speaking on The Overlap on 10 March, Ratcliffe claimed the Premier League side would have gone “bust by Christmas” if it wasn’t for his cost-cutting measures.
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider the 72-year-old’s statement was in direct contradiction to the club’s filings to the New York Stock Exchange.
Man United have announced plans to build a 100,000-seater stadium as part of the government’s regeneration of the Old Trafford area.
United posted a club-record revenue of £661.8million in 2023-24 despite recording a net loss of £113.2million.
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The Manchester giants’ existing debt currently stands at around £1billion after they have faced financial challenges in recent years.
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Jim Ratcliffe revealed private Man United details
Borson insisted he wouldn’t allow Ratcliffe to make several media addresses if he was advising him following his “irresponsible” statements.
He told Football Insider: “He covered a lot of ground in that interview.
“It’s great that somebody’s talking because a lot of owners never talk, but if I was advising him PR wise, I don’t think I’d be allowing him to have these sorts of biannual addresses to the media and four or five different interviews.
“They were all slightly different and all gave out little nuggets of detail that’s not public information. He said things like the wage bill that they had on the pitch on Saturday.
“He said that their player wage bill was £250million, which is not a public figure. It’s not a public piece of information that’s out there. I would say he’s giving out a lot of information that he doesn’t need to give out.
“It’s technically true that, if you’re a loss-making business with relatively low levels of cash and nobody puts money in in either debt or equity, then it stands to reason that obviously you will not be able to pay your bills.
“But what he said was in direct contradiction to their filings with the New York Stock Exchange, which says as you have to do in each of these statements that the business has got sufficient working capital to pay its debts over the next 12 months.
“It makes a good headline, but it’s actually quite irresponsible for somebody involved in a public company listed in the United States to make these sorts of statements that aren’t really true.
“The we’d be bust by Christmas applies to most of the world’s football teams. Most of them are loss making. Most of them require somebody or some funding facility to be put in place to pay the bills at certain times of the year. That is normal.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is making more unpopular decisions at Man United
(Credit: Getty Images)
Man United hatch Kobbie Mainoo sale plan
Football Insider revealed on 14 March United would prefer to sell Kobbie Mainoo abroad if he chooses to leave the club.
Talks are ongoing with the 19-year-old over a new deal but it has been widely reported Mainoo is ready to reject a new Old Trafford contract and seek a move away.
Appearances (Starts) 25 (19)
Minutes Played 1655
Goals 1
Assists 1
Yellow Cards 6
Mainoo’s Man United stats in the 2024-25 campaign (all competitions)
United will open the door to a summer sale if they can’t reach a contract agreement with the midfielder, but it is believed they plan to sell him abroad if possible.
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