Sir Jim Ratcliffe's thoughts on the Glazers may not go down well at Man Utd

Manchester United fans finally got their way when Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS sidekicks became part-owners and took control of the club’s sporting operation after years of chaotic ownership under the Glazer family.

The Glazers – spearheaded by brothers Joel and Avram – are still the majority owners at Old Trafford, but the reins are now in the hands of Sir Jim and co, and they have made a number of significant appointments with a view to propelling the club back to the top of the Premier League.

While the Glazers are no longer calling the shots in terms of on-pitch matters, United fans are still wounded from years of skyrocketing debt, neglected infrastructure and poor transfer strategy.

Sir Jim referring to them as ‘really good people’ who are ‘passionate about the club’ is therefore unlikely to be well received. The petrochemicals billionaire told The Times: “I think we tried and tried many, many different permutations to do a transaction with the Glazer family, and for one reason or another [each] had their challenges or obstacles so in the end we did the deal that we could do.

“At the end of the day, in my view, the key thing is to just have a good relationship with the other owners, which are the Glazer family — the six siblings. You know, they’re really good people. And they are passionate about the club.

“The key is not the legal agreements. The key is that we have common objectives, which are to see Manchester United be successful, and that we trust each other.”

One of Sir Jim’s first courses of action was to pinch Omar Berrada from noisy neighbours Manchester City and make him United’s new CEO. Jason Wilcox was also recruited as a new technical director, with Dan Ashworth assuming the role of sporting director.

It remains to be seen whether the reshuffle, combined with a number of expensive signings in the summer transfer window, translate to improved results on the pitch. United were pipped on penalties by City in the Community Shield on Saturday, but their performance suggested that things are moving in the right direction under Erik ten Hag.

Sir Jim pulled no punches when discussing United’s troubling record in the decade prior to INEOS’ arrival. “The results speak for themselves,” he added. “In the last ten or eleven years, it should have been a contender for the Premier League and Champions League [trophies] every year and it hasn’t at all.

“It is a big responsibility to return the club to where it should be. It should be performing at least in the top eight in Europe. Now if we can’t do that then we won’t have been successful.”