Manchester United continues its descent into hell. This week, the Red Devils lost to FC Copenhagen on the fourth day of the UEFA Champions League. A terrible setback for the English, who are increasingly criticized. This is also the case for Erik ten Hag, whose head is hanging by a thread. In all this slump, the residents of Old Trafford must manage the takeover of the club. If all goes as planned, Sir Jim Ratcliffe will recover 25% of Man U’s shares after investing around 1.5 billion euros.
The final details will be settled a priori on Monday. But the English billionaire is already at work. Indeed, The Sun reveals that he wants to resolve a matter that is very important to him as a priority. He doesn’t understand the club’s management in terms of recruitment at all. He is appalled to see how the Mancunians spent their money during the last transfer windows. We are still talking about 1.6 billion euros to buy several flops according to the 71-year-old businessman. Among the players whose recruitment he does not understand, we find Romelu Lukaku.
Ratcliffe wants to change everything
The Belgian was bought for 85 million euros. The return of Paul Pogba for more than 100 million euros stunned him. Same thing for Jadon Sancho, Angel Di Maria, Anthony Martial and Donny van de Beek. In short, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is not at all convinced by the Red Devils recruitment unit. And he intends to do a major cleaning. So Richard Arnold (CEO), John Murtough (Director of Football) and David Harrison (Director of Football Operations) are all under threat. They were the ones who oversaw several major purchases following the departure of former chief Ed Woodward. They are in the crosshairs of a shocked Ratcliffe.
The transfer windows made since the arrival of Erik ten Hag don’t necessarily please him either. The Mancunians have already spent 428 million euros to enlist the reinforcements desired by the Dutchman. And for the moment, it is not a great achievement, even if the British billionaire welcomes the club’s third place in the Premier League last year. The INEOS boss, who has held several discussions with co-chairman Joel Glazer over the whole of United’s football structure, already has three players in his sights. The door will be open in January for Jadon Sancho, Antony and Anthony Martial. With the three leaders, that’s 6 heads Ratcliffe wants to cut off.
