Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen has spoken out against Sir Jim Ratcliffe, offering his opinion on the way the Red Devils are being run.
February 2024 saw Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquire a 27.7% stake in Manchester United, which also enabled him to take control of football operations at the club.
The INEOS founder had already invested over £200 million on transfers ahead of this summer, and has since hired a new manager in Ruben Amorim, and spent an additional excess of £130 million on Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.
Many questions have been raised regarding Ratcliffe’s ownership since he took over at the club, with his cut-throat, cost-saving approach often being shunned.
The BBC reported in May that Ratcliffe has overseen approximately 400-450 redundancies since his takeover, which has sparked considerable concern in the media.
Meulensteen can’t see Ratcliffe benefit
Former United coach Rene Meulensteen has been questioned on the ownership style of the INEOS chairman, and his reply was very telling.
“At this moment in time, I can’t see any benefits since Sir Jim Ratcliffe joined,” Meulensteen said. “On and off the pitch, I don’t think there’s too much for the fans at this moment in time to shout about.
“I think the communication has been a little bit blurred at times. Obviously, I know he did that interview with Gary Neville, and I thought Gary was really good at asking straightforward questions. I wasn’t too impressed with many answers.
“I think that when new people come in, the key is clear communication and transparency so that people can see the vision going forward and that the vision and strategy has been put into action. I can’t see that at the moment.”
Will United benefit from Ratcliffe’s approach?
Having finished in a dismal 15th last season in the Premier League, many questions have been raised regarding the direction that United are heading in.
When Ratcliffe started displaying his brutal approach to running operations, it was expected that the Red Devils would see some immediate benefits, but this hasn’t been the case.
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In defence of the British billionaire, it can often take a while to see results from new ownership. To take Chelsea, for example, they suffered immensely at the start of Todd Boehly’s ownership, but have since improved drastically.
Considering how poor the last decade has been for United, it is understandable that their fans have grown impatient and want to see immediate results, but only time will tell whether Ratcliffe is the right fit for the Reds.
Rene Meulensteen was speaking to Grosvenor Casino.
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