# ‘Not good enough and overpaid’: Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s attack on United players

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has launched a blistering attack on  players, stating some are “not good enough” and “overpaid”, referencing Casemiro, Antony, Jadon Sancho, Rasmus Højlund and André Onana when doing so.

In a series of interviews, Ratcliffe, the club’s co-owner, also said that Ruben Amorim would be the head coach for a “long time”, and admitted that  was an error.

## United’s Financial Situation

United are down in 14th place on 34 points with 10 games of the Premier League season left. Ratcliffe is clear that this is the fault of players his football department inherited , the billionaire Ineos owner referencing the transfer fee instalments they will have to pay in the close season.

“You if look at the players we are buying this summer, that we didn’t buy, we’re buying Antony, we’re buying Casemiro, we’re buying Onana, we’re buying Højlund, we’re buying Sancho,” Ratcliffe said in an interview with the BBC. “These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we’ve inherited those things and have to sort that out.

“For Sancho, who now plays for Chelsea  and we pay half his wages, we’re paying £17m to buy him in the summer. It takes time for us to move away from the past into a new place in the future.”

, after his £81m transfer from Ajax in 2022 during the same summer Casemiro arrived for £70m from Real Madrid. Højlund, who cost £72m from Atalanta, and Onana (£47m from Inter), joined the following summer. Ratcliffe was asked if he meant this quintet are not of the requisite quality for United.

## United’s Commitment to Building the Squad

“Some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid, but for us to mould the squad that we are fully responsible for, and accountable for, will take time,” the 72-year-old said. “We’ve got this period of transformation where we move from the past to the future. There are some great players in the squad as we know, the captain is a fabulous footballer. We definitely need Bruno  – he’s a fantastic footballer.”

, Amorim was hired on a two-and a half-year deal. Ratcliffe suggested the Portuguese coach would be in charge for far longer. “If I actually look at the squad which is available to Ruben, I think he is doing a really good job, to be honest,” he said. “I think that Ruben is an outstanding young manager. I really do. He’s an excellent manager and I think he will be there for a long time. You are beginning to see a glimpse of what Ruben can produce. I think you saw a glimpse of it against Arsenal.”

Ratcliffe pointed to injuries as mitigation regarding United’s league position and the number of young players named as substitutes  against Arsenal. “How many players against Arsenal on the bench did you recognise? How many have ever worn a Manchester United shirt for  – there’s no squad left. We are down to the last 10 or 11 men in the squad really, of proper first-team players. Ruben is doing a super job.”

## United’s Financial Crisis

United’s finances are severely constricted after losing £300m in the past three years. Yet despite  (£25.1m), plus up to €5m of add-ons, in the January window, Ratcliffe said Amorim would have money to spend in the summer market. “Obviously that budget changes – but upon who we may choose to sell because that would supplement the budget.”

Ratcliffe also defended his stated focus on the men’s side over the women’s team. “Of our £650m of income, £640m of that comes from the men’s team and £10m comes from the women’s team,” he said. “With my business background you tend to focus on the bigger issues before you focus on the smaller issues.”

## Future Plans

An announcement is expected on Tuesday regarding plans for what the club has previously said may be “the most iconic football stadium in the world”. This would be built to replace Old Trafford on the current stadium’s site.
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