Sir Jim Ratcliffe has officially opened dialogue with Manchester United fans, telling the club’s supporters’ trust that he will work with the global fanbase to transform the Red Devils’ fortunes.
The club’s new co-owner penned a letter to the MUST just 48 hours after his £1.25bn investment in the club was confirmed on Christmas Eve, re-affirming the “critical role” of the supporters.
The MUST had issued a statement following the investment calling for greater clarity on the deal and saying many fans would have “mixed feelings” at the announcement.
Ratcliffe’s response was intended as a starting point for increased dialogue, with the new investor understood to be aware that some supporters will be sceptical about a deal which leaves the Glazer family with a 75 per cent controlling stake in the club.
But it is clear that Ratcliffe acknowledges the need for profound change at Old Trafford.
The Ineos chairman mapped out his ambitions to return the club to a position of prominence in the English game, warning that it would require “time and patience” and “the highest level of professional management”.
Ratcliffe’s 25 per cent investment was agreed before Christmas but will now take around six to eight weeks to be ratified by the Premier League. In that time the new Ineos appointees to the club’s football board – Jean-Claude Blanc and Sir Dave Brailsford – plan to carry out detailed meetings with key staff before drawing up a plan.
They are prevented from making major decisions until the Premier League clear the investment.
Inevitably the future of Erik ten Hag will come under scrutiny but sources have told i that any big calls will not be made until a fuller picture can be sketched out of the club’s processes and what needs to be changed.
But engaging with the club’s supporters trust, which is democratically elected to represent the fans, feels like a positive start.
Indeed MUST said the letter was a “positive beginning” as they target meaningful dialogue in a new era for Manchester United.
“I wanted to write to you at this time given the critical role of the fans to the future of Manchester United as we recognise our responsibility as custodians of the club on your behalf,” Ratcliffe wrote in the missive received on Boxing Day.
“I believe we can bring sporting success on the pitch to complement the undoubted commercial success that the club has enjoyed.
“It will require time and patience alongside rigour and the highest level of professional management.
“You are ambitious for Manchester United and so are we. There are no guarantees in sport, and change can inevitably take time but we are in it for the long term and together we want to help take Manchester United back to where the club belongs, at the very top of English, European and world football. I take that responsibility very seriously.”
Ratcliffe does not plan to speak publicly on club matters until after the Premier League’s checks are completed in early February.
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