Ratcliffe also criticised Starmer in the interview, claiming the Prime Minister was "too nice" and saying that the country needed a leader who was "prepared to be unpopular for a period of time to get the big issues sorted out". He praised the Reform leader Nigel Farage, who has pledged to deport illegal migrants and significantly reduce legal migration, describing him as "an intelligent man" with "good intentions".
Ratcliffe admitted that he has faced opposition for his leadership of United, including cost-cutting measures which have led to more than 600 workers being made redundant. Ratcliffe also oversaw the decision to extend Erik ten Hag's contract as coach in 2024 only to sack him four months later. He also fired sporting director Dan Ashworth five months into the job, ignoring his reservations about Ruben Amorim, who was then sacked 14 months after being appointed.
"Well, I've been very unpopular at Manchester United because we've made lots of changes," he said. "But for the better, in my view. And I think we're beginning to see some evidence in the football club that that's beginning to pay off. But you've got all the same issues with the country. If you really want to deal with the major issues of immigration, with people opting to take benefits rather than working for a living, if you want to deal with that, then you're going to have to do some things which are unpopular, and show some courage."
Starmer immediately responded to Ratcliffe, describing his comments as "offensive and wrong". He added: "Britain is a proud, tolerant and diverse country. Jim Ratcliffe should apologise."
Farage responded to Starmer's comments by saying: "Britain has undergone unprecedented mass immigration that has changed the character of many areas in our country. Labour may try to ignore that but Reform won’t."