Ratcliffe ‘less than impressed’ with Man Utd director set to follow Arnold out of Old Trafford
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly ‘less than impressed’ with the recruitment at Manchester United and holds John Murtough ‘responsible’.
Ratcliffe is poised to complete a deal that will see him buy 25 per cent stake in United for £1.4bn, with the Glazers reportedly willing to cede control of the football side of the business to the Ineos owner.
The Red Devils announced this week that CEO Richard Arnold is stepping down and the Daily Star claim Murtough is set to follow him out of the club.
It’s claimed Ratcliffe has taken issue with United’s recruitment in the transfer market and ‘holds Murtough responsible’, with the failure to sign England stars Harry Kane and Declan Rice highlighted by the report.
Murtough was an internal appointment at United, becoming the club’s first ever football director having been promoted from his previous role as the club’s head of football development.
He was tasked with ‘overseeing operations and strategy across all football functions at the club’. You can see why Ratcliffe is ‘less than impressed’.
It’s not yet clear how the splitting of responsibility betwene Ratcliffe and the Glazers will pan out at Old Trafford, and Paul Scholes isn’t convinced the majority shareholders will be willing to stay completely out of the football side of the business.
Scholes said: “Well everyone talks about recruitment and recruitment is very difficult.
“It’s a difficult thing to get right, every signing you make is a risk. It’s clear that we’ve signed good players, but a lot of them don’t seem to ever work. So I think that will be the first thing he does.
“They’re talking about a director of football as well, or a sporting director whatever you want to call it, with some experience, that will be something he will want to get in place straight away.
“I just find it difficult to believe that he’s going to be left to his own devices only owning 25 per cent of the football club.
“How are the Glazers not going to want a say at the top table when it comes to football decisions?
“Obviously you can draw up contracts, of course you can, but if stuff is then happening that they don’t like, you’re telling me they’re not going to come to the table and have something to say about it? I’m sure they will.
“I just find it bizarre. It’s obviously a stepping stone to him [Ratcliffe] taking over the club permanently, but how long that is going to be we don’t know. And how much time has he got to try and get things right?”
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