The billionaire talked up his Manchester links after purchasing the club, but has alienated fans and employees as well as making some big mistakes
When Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed his partial takeover of Manchester United in 2024, there was a great sense of hope among supporters on a number of levels. After almost two decades of neglect from the Glazer family, there was belief that a the club would be heading back in the right direction under a man who had years of experience in elite sport. There was also hope that they would be able to identify with the club once more.
Ratcliffe grew up in a council estate in north Manchester, had been to Old Trafford with his father as a child and had attended the 1999 Champions League final in Barcelona. There was genuine feeling that he was going to put the Manchester back in Manchester United and listen to supporters’ concerns rather than show them contempt.
And yet it has taken little more than a year for Ratcliffe to show his true colours. GOAL runs through 10 moments that have demonstrated that he cares as little for the club, the people that work for it and its supporters as his co-owners from Florida…