Former Manchester United striker Giuseppe Rossi has told his former club’s higher-ups that they need to focus more on titles than on revenue.
On Wednesday night, Manchester United suffered their first defeat under Michael Carrick, with the Reds suffering a 2-1 defeat against a ten-man Newcastle United.
Bruno Fernandes tripped the Magpies’ Anthony Gordon inside the penalty box, which the Englishman coolly dispatched, before the United captain set up Casemiro for an immediate response on the stroke of half-time.
The Reds played against ten men for the entirety of the second half, but it was the home side who managed to secure all three points through a 90th-minute William Osula strike.
This result has dragged Carrick’s men back into a closely contested fight for a UEFA Champions League spot, with there now only being three points separating third and sixth in the Premier League.
Rossi sends message to Ratcliffe
Former United striker Giuseppe Rossi has spoken about his former club and how they are currently operating, claiming that Sir Jim Ratcliffe needs to change their focus from chasing money to focusing on titles.
Speaking with GOAL, Rossi said, “You know, do the owners of Manchester United care about being the biggest trophy-wise, title-wise, or the biggest revenue-wise?
“There’s two different ways of looking at it. For people who care about football, it’s all about the titles, it’s all about winning, it’s all about being the best. Football has changed. It’s all about the dollar signs outside of football first.
“And, you know, they are the top dog. They’re still the top dog, I think, right? In global football, if not, they’re second to Real Madrid or Barcelona or whatever.
“So what do they care about the most? The fans, they care about the titles. I care about the titles. I’m sure the players care about the titles, and rightfully so. It should be about that. And we shall see.
“We shall see if that’s something that the front office is going to transmit to these players and how we want to get back to winning titles instead of being the highest revenue-generating team in the world.”
Can United still attract top talent?
The Italian then went on to talk about whether United are still capable of attracting the upper echelon of footballers, saying, “I think they still are. I think people still dream about playing for Man United. It is the biggest club in the world. So whenever there’s that chance, I feel like they’re able to attract.
“Manchester United, I feel like, is always a destination for the best players, for the young players. It’s still the best club in the world. They just need to get back on track when it comes to results.
“This year, they’re doing a great job with Carrick, filling in for [Rúben] Amorim and being able to find an identity again, being able to find the Manchester United way.
READ MORE: Gareth Bale explains Carlo Ancelotti would succeed as Man Utd boss, “That’s Carlo’s genius…”
“People are always talking about certain goals that have been scored that look like the old way of playing in the Fergie days. And once you find that identity, I feel like you can build upon it.
“And this year, they have to be realistic that their goal is to find European football again, Champions League football again. And I think they’re on a good path of doing so.
“And yeah, the next year, they’re able to build something, have continuity, hopefully with Carrick and get back to winning. They certainly appear to be on the right path again, United.”
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 14:00 pm (GMT) on the United View YouTube channel.