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Manchester United’s majority owners are angry about Jim Ratcliffe’s running of the club, according to reports.
Man United are owned primarily by the Glazer family, with brothers Joel and Avram holding the position of co-chairmen despite the extremely hands-off nature of their involvement.
The Glazers handed the running of the football side of United to INEOS when Ratcliffe and his company secured a shareholding of more than a quarter of the club, an agreement that has failed to get the Red Devils out of a rut.
Glazers not getting ‘what they were promised’ from Ratcliffe at Man United
Ratcliffe initially bought a 25 percent share in December 2023 and INEOS assumed control of United’s football operations. Since then, enormous investment in the playing side has led to continued underperformance.
United finished third in the Premier League last season but have been subject to constant doubts over coaching and behind-the-scenes battles about technical directors and managers.
The Glazers, who own the remainder of the Old Trafford club, are understood to be less than satisfied about Ratcliffe’s leadership and running of United’s football business, according to the Daily Mail.
“It’s a travesty and not what they expected or were promised,” a source told Ian Herbert. They have never run the club this way.”
The Mail reports that a decision to sell Manchester United could be on the cards for the Glazers in the long run, with their interest in the club as low as ever and United fans’ opinion of them rarely improving above outright contempt.
“The $6bn (£4.5bn) valuation which the Glazers put on the club when seeking a buyer, four years ago, is looking more unrealistic than ever,” reports Herbert.
“The Glazers control any sale. A clause in their deal with Ratcliffe, completed in 2024, lets them force him out of his 28 percent stake – and out of the entire landscape – if they sell the club to a third party, without him having any say, unless he can match that offer and buy the entire club himself.
“Whatever displeasure they might feel, they can’t buy back Ratcliffe’s piece of the United pie. But from next February, Ratcliffe will be powerless to stop them selling the entire club for a price lower than the $33 (£25) a share he paid for his chunk.”
United’s fortunes on the pitch are no more serene than developments behind closed doors. Having appointed interim head coach Michael Carrick on a permanent basis at the end of last season, the Red Devils have won just two of their 12 fixtures in all competitions this season.
Carrick’s team have dropped into the bottom five in the Premier League table and two senior players have broken ranks in recent weeks to criticise either technical director Jason Wilcox or the tactics of the head coach.
United face Chelsea in the early Premier League match on Saturday.
