Ratcliffe would walk away from Manchester United if abuse became too much

Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he “doesn’t mind being unpopular” at Manchester United, but would draw the line at the toxic level of abuse aimed at the Glazer family and walk away from the club that he bought a 28.94% stake for £1.3bn.

The 72-year-old co-owner has embarked on a wide range of staff and spending cuts since he took control of football operations last year. The Ineos billionaire’s attempts to boost revenue have included a mid-season hike in some ticket prices, affecting under-16s and pensioners.

Ratcliffe has made clear his displeasure at players’ performances on the pitch, saying some were “overpaid” and “not good enough”. That prompted a stern reaction from the club captain, Bruno Fernandes, in the week United revealed plans to replace Old Trafford with a new 100,000-capacity stadium that could cost £2bn.

“I can put up with it for a while,” Ratcliffe said of the abuse in an interview published on the Times website on Saturday morning. “I don’t mind being unpopular because I get that nobody likes seeing Manchester United down where they are and nobody likes the decisions we’re having to make.

“If I draw a bit of the ire, I can put up with that. But I’m no different to the average person. It’s not nice, particularly for friends and family. So, eventually, if it reached the extent that the Glazer family have been abused, then I’d have to say: ‘Look, enough’s enough, guys, let somebody else do this.’

“They can’t really come to a match, the Glazers. They’ve retreated into the shadows a bit now, so I’m getting all the stick. We bought in and I haven’t seen them since. It’s: ‘Thank you, Jim, you’re doing a really good job.’

“I don’t have security, I don’t have to walk around like that. But it would defeat the object, wouldn’t it? You couldn’t tolerate it at that level, it just wouldn’t be fun.”

Ratcliffe was seen sitting behind Ed Glazer during last week’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal, and has previously attended games alongside Joel Glazer. In the interview he described the family, deeply unpopular with a large part of the United fanbase, as “really decent people” but suggested Joel might be too nice for the job as he failed to be ruthless during past failures.

“I wouldn’t have tolerated Ed Woodward, or Richard Arnold,” Ratcliffe said. “Richard was a rugby man, he didn’t even understand football. Ed didn’t have the credentials to manage the club. He was a merchant banker, an accountant. He wasn’t the chief executive.”

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Ratcliffe also questioned the decision to appoint David Moyes when Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. “I like David Moyes, and I think he’s a really good manager, but to go from Sir Alex Ferguson to Moyes is not where I would have gone,” he said.

“Moyes stepped into the shoes of Ferguson, who’s won the Premier League 13 times, who won the Champions League twice, and then you’re handing over to a guy who has never managed big players and had never won anything. He’s not necessarily got the personality to stand in front of them all.”

United head to Leicester on Sunday after a rare positive week, following a 1-1 league draw against Arsenal on Sunday by making Europa League progress with an impressive 4-1 triumph against Real Sociedad on Thursday.

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