Sir Jim Ratcliffe explains what Man Utd owners the Glazers are really like

23 February 2024 , 07:02

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New Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe (Image: BBC Sport)

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has insisted the Glazers are "avid supporters of Manchester United" and revealed he has been able to form a "very good and trusting relationship" with co-executive chairmen Joel and Avram.

Ratcliffe has purchased a 25 per cent stake in the club for around £1.3billion. The deal was finally completed on Tuesday after both the Premier League and Football Association granted their approval, with Ratcliffe now set to take full control of the sporting side of the business.

And the Ineos chief is confident he and the Glazers will work well together as co-owners, despite United fans wanting them out altogether after running the club into more than £1bn of debt and failing to revamp Old Trafford.

"I only know Joel and Avram and they are, despite what you might read in the press, very nice people, very courteous and they are avid supporters of Manchester United believe it or not," Ratcliffe said in an interview with BBC Sport.

"I understand the frustrations and the anger [of supporters] but I am looking forward not backward. What I'd like to say to the fans is give us a little bit of time, try to be patient and we'll try to build Manchester United back to where it should be, which is as one of the very elite clubs in the world.

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"The key to it working is the relationship we will have with Joel and Avram, which in my view is a very good and trusting relationship. I can't give people assurances or guarantees about the future, but my personal view is that there is a good level of trust and it will work.

"I think in a way it might have been the easier solution for the Glazer family to sell outright to the Qataris. To be fair to the Glazers, they thought the best solution was to sell to me because they thought United would benefit more from that."

Ratcliffe says he has a "very good and trusting relationship" with Avram and Joel Glazer (AFP via Getty Images)

Ratcliffe also claimed there are "some quite complicated reasons" why United have not enjoyed great success under the Glazers after both Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill stepped away from the club in 2013.

"They are nice people and nice partners to have in this project going forward," he added. "They obviously were very successful before Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill retired. But they have never filled the gap after.

"There are stadium issues, but they have been generous with the cheque book. For whatever reason it hasn't worked on the field, but there are some quite complicated reasons for that."

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Matthew Cooper