Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has thrown his full support behind head coach Ruben Amorim and wants him to have three years at the club.
The Portuguese boss has been under pressure after finishing 15th during the 2024/25 Premier League stadium and not having a successful start to the new season.
Of their seven League fixtures, United have won just 3 and they suffered extensive embarrassment when they were beaten on penalties by Grimsby Town in the EFL Cup.
Rumours have circulated around the club's board and owners wanting to get rid of the manager, and even that Amorim would leave on his own accord.
But speaking to The Times' "The Business" Podcast, Ratcliffe has backed Amorim completely.
He said he would give the head coach three years to prove himself a "great coach" as "football's not overnight".
The INEOS owner compared Amorim's progress to that of former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal boss, Mikel Arteta.
“I remember the clamouring for Alex Ferguson to be fired in his first two years".
“You look at Arteta at Arsenal. He had a miserable time for the first couple of years."
Ratcliffe continued, “We’re results-driven at the end of the day, but we have to be patient and we have to see through the results. I think there’s lots of good things at Manchester United. We have to be patient and we have a long-term plan. It isn’t a light switch.
“Ruben needs to demonstrate that he’s a great coach over three years.”
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Ratcliffe lays it all bare for Manchester United
The 72-year-old billionaire, who controls the sporting side of the club, was open in his comments.
He explained his cost-cutting decisions, defended majority owners The Glazers and where he sees the club going long-term.
“There are two halves to a football team – there is the business side and the sports side,” he said.
“The biggest correlation, like it or not, between results and any external factor – is profitability. The more cash you have got, the better squad you can build. It’s like a Formula One car – the better car you can build, the quicker you go."
Ratcliffe claims that he plans to make the club the most profitable it has ever been.
When speaking on the Glazer family, who took over the club in 2005, he said they are "really nice people they are really passionate about the club".
He said that their relationship is balanced as he acts as the "local" with feet on the ground, while the American family don't have such an advantage.
Ratcliffe reinforced that the Glazers also wouldn't ask for Amorim to be sacked.
“It absolutely wouldn’t happen because it’s just a good working relationship. They come to the board meetings. We sit down and we talk about things. We’ve made errors. There’s absolutely no question that we’ve made errors as we’ve gone along and we’ve talked about it. But no one’s perfect.”
The Red Devils' co-owner also spoke on boosted the academy's performance, after claiming they are not producing as good quality as they were. He says improvement will benefit them financially.
Financials seem to be a clear incentive here, and Ratcliffe has made an impact already - even if cost-cutting measures have looked minor, including removing free lunches.
“There are some fantastic people at Manchester United, but there was also a level of mediocrity and it had become bloated. I got a lot of flak for the free lunches, but no-one’s ever given me a free lunch.”
They recorded a record £666.5 million revenue year for 2024/25, but with a £33 million loss - an improvement on the season before that saw a £113 million loss.
Cost-cutting measures saw a £51 million saving in employee expenses. But in contrast, the club spent over £200 million in incoming players over the summer.
Ratcliffe says he's pleased with what's done, both in cost-cutting and in transfer business.
To add to this, the club announced a proposed near £2 billion 100,000 seater New Trafford Stadium build - a plan that has had many raise their eyebrows over where the club will get the money to fund this.
And yet the club is in debt for a reporter £1.1 billion.
It all seems a little bit unclear financially, and yet Ratcliffe is being more open and honest than ever.
So with a backing for Amorim and more cost-cutting to come, can the co-owner fix Manchester United?
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