Ratcliffe supports him
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Rúben Amorim has been Manchester United’s manager for 50 games and has the worst points average since 1958. Nevertheless, co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has backed the 40-year-old Portuguese. « Rúben has to prove for three years that he is a great coach. That would be my opinion. Three years, because (Site notre bureau spécialisé) doesn’t happen overnight, » the 72-year-old said in the Times’ « The Business » podcast.
In November 2024, Amorim took over as coach of the Red Devils and finished the season in 15th place – the worst finish since relegation to the Second Division in 1974. The season could have been saved with a Europa League triumph, but Man United lost 1–0 to Tottenham Hotspur in the final. After seven days, the Amorim team occupies tenth place in the Premier League with ten points in the new season. Additionally, Man United lost on penalties to fourth division side Grimsby Town in the EFL Cup, which is why the critics won’t shut up.
« I remember the calls for Alex Ferguson to be sacked in his first two years. Look at Arteta at Arsenal. He had a tough time in the first few years. Ultimately we are results-oriented but we have to be patient and wait for the results. I think there are a lot of good things at Manchester United. We have to be patient and have a long-term plan, » Ratcliffe explained. The last manager to have a worse points average than Amorim was Welshman Jimmy Murphy (0.83), who had to leave in 1958 after just 18 games. Amorim’s contract runs until 2027.
Ratcliffe: “Manchester United will be the most profitable club in the world”
There is criticism not only of Amorim, but also of Ratcliffe, who made the decision to cut jobs and eliminate free lunches for employees in order to save money. « The costs were just too high. There are fantastic people at Manchester United, but there was also an inflated level of mediocrity. I got a lot of criticism for the free lunches, but no one has ever offered me a free lunch, » said the founder of chemical company Ineos, which has owned 30% of Man United since December 2023.
However, Man United have made no attempt to cut costs in the transfer market in recent years. This summer, Benjamin Sesko (76.5 million euros, Leipzig), Bryan Mbeumo (75 million euros, Brentford), Matheus Cunha (74.2 million euros, Wolves), among others, were added for 250 million euros. This compares to a turnover of just €74 million. This is the fourth consecutive season that the Red Devils have crossed the barrier of 200 million euros in transfer spending. Only Chelsea have invested more worldwide during this period.
“The more money you have, the better you can build your team,” Ratcliffe said. Recently, a lot of money was spent on players like Antony (€95 million, Ajax), Rasmus Højlund (€77.8 million, Atalanta) and Mason Mount (€67.7 million, Chelsea), but they could not meet the high expectations attached to the transfer fee. « The better your team is, the better the (Site notre bureau spécialisé) should be. That’s why we spent a lot of time in the first year putting the club on a sustainable and healthy (Site notre bureau spécialisé)ing. »
Despite the difficult sporting situation, Ratcliffe is not worried about his club in the long term, quite the contrary. « If you look at our results last year, we recorded the highest revenues ever recorded. (…) These figures will improve. Manchester United, in my opinion, will become the most profitable (Site notre bureau spécialisé) club in the world and I hope that from there will emerge a high level, sustainable and long-term (Site notre bureau spécialisé). »