Fans of Manchester United are seen with a banner which reads ‘Local lad Sir Jim charges £66 for OAPS + juniors. Stop Exploiting Loyalty’ as they protest against the price of tickets outside the stadium prior to the Premier League match against Everton on December 01, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
It’s fair to say that Sir Jim Ratcliffe isn’t the most popular man in the red half of Manchester at present, and Man United’s financial crisis has been laid bare thanks to recent revelations.
INEOS were slammed for one recent decision, whilst Sir Jim was recently told he was “worse than the Glazers” as fans began to revolt against his way of doing business.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe continues making himself unpopular
It’s believed that even more staff will be made redundant as part of further cost cutting measures by Sir Jim, in order to bring the club back towards being on an even keel financially.
Whether all or part of the measures being implemented are necessary is something of a moot point at this stage.
There was always going to be a tough period to get through before United could start seeing light at the end of the tunnel, and Sir Jim is being forced to carry the can for some hugely unpopular decisions.
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Ultimately, if those decisions help to restore United to its former glory, the current unsettling period will arguably be looked at as a necessary evil.
However, if the club are still floundering in 18-24 months time, questions will continue to be asked.
Latest Man United developments should be an embarrassment to Sir Jim Ratcliffe
In the meantime, it appears as if the vultures are circling, with all and sundry trying to take advantage of United’s current malaise.
According to The Telegraph (subscription required), United’s rivals want to buy out the sell-on clauses of certain players, in order to give the Red Devils an immediate cash injection.
That it has even got to the point where clubs feel like chancing their arm more than hints at the issues behind the scenes at the Theatre of Dreams, and seeing United back at the pinnacle of domestic and European football seems a long, long way off as a result.