Sir Jim Ratcliffe admits he's made 'unpopular decisions' at Man United (2024)

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has admitted that he has had to 'do some unpopular things' since acquiring partial ownership at Manchester United in February this year.

Since acquiring a 27.7 per cent stake in the Red Devils, Ratcliffe and INEOS have been shaking up the football operations at the club.

The new leadership group have announced ambitions to turn Old Trafford into the 'Wembley of the North', appointed new directors and also brought about a significant change in the culture at the club.

This week, the 71-year-old petrochemical magnate has been giving his verdict on the upcoming general election in the United Kingdom.

He stated that the UK population were ready for a change in government, before answering questions on whether Sir Keir Starmer would be a good Prime Minister.

'Well, I think he... I mean, I think he's a very sensible man. And he's an intelligent man. I don't know,' he said to Bloomberg when asked whether Starmer would be a good leader for the country.

'I think you probably have to do some unpopular things to get those types of issues dealt with. It's like at Manchester United, I'm having to do some things which are unpopular.

He added: 'I mean, I think at the end-of-the day doing difficult things, and you know, a degree of unpopularity, in a funny sort of way, might make you more popular.

'Because somebody's seeing that you're standing up and making some difficult decisions rather than just sort of blowing with the wind a bit.'

It comes just weeks after United's leadership group made the decision to keep Erik ten Hag as their manager.

Pressure had been mounting on the United boss amid their struggles this season, with United dropping to finish eighth in the Premier League, their lowest league placing since the 1989-90 season.

But it was revealed on June 11 that the club would be throwing their backing behind the Dutchman, despite the club having enquired about several potential replacements.

Mail Sport understands that club bosses want to see how Ten Hag operates under what they believe will be a new structure next season that will attempt to give him the best opportunity to succeed.

Despite that, Ten Hag has now clinched two titles in his first two seasons in charge at Old Trafford and has helped young stars like Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho develop their skills.

Meanwhile, Ratcliffe and INEOS have continued to change things up at Old Trafford with the club, with Mail Sport reporting that the club's new co-owners invited employees to take redundancy in May.

It comes amid the new co-owner's drive to cut costs following their £1.3billion investment in the football club.

United have also unveiled plans to complete renovation works to their Carrington Training Complex this month.

The £50million project is set to last for the duration of the 2024-25 season, with Ratcliffe stating: 'We want to create a world-class environment for our teams to win.

'When we conducted a thorough review of the Carrington training facilities and met with our men's first team players, it was clear the standards had fallen below some of our peers.

'This project will ensure Manchester United's training ground is once more renovated to the highest standards.

'Lord Foster, a fellow Mancunian, has brought some great inspiration to the design, in conjunction with the Manchester United team and we look forward to seeing the improvement to the facilities but most importantly on the pitch.'