Graeme Souness has warned Sir Jim Ratcliffe against buying Manchester United as it seems the 71-year-old is closing in on a 25 per cent acquisition of the club.
After a breakthrough last weekend, it finally seems like there is some significant progress that will see Sir Jim Ratcliffe own a small stake in Manchester United but will have a say in the sporting decisions.
As part of a reported three-pronged team with Joel Glazer and Sir Dave Brailsford, Ratcliffe would have the power to make executive sporting decisions which would include the hiring and firing of managers as well as signing players, according to Sky Sports.
Ex-Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness has given his verdict on Ratcliffe’s potential ownership of the club, which may well be delayed.
Souness on Ratcliffe
Writing in his Daily Mail column, Souness was very critical of United and has detailed what needs to change
“The club in which he is about to take a 25 per cent stake are so far behind where they want to be, and where they should be, it’s a risk,” he said. “They are one of, if not the biggest club in the world. Yet, they have a modest group of players.”
“I said in June ahead of the FA Cup final, a composite team of the Manchester clubs would have 11 names from City. Nothing has changed.
“Because of that, there is one area Ratcliffe must address with urgency. Recruitment. This is the most important thing you have to get right at any club. Man United, since Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill left in 2013, have given a masterclass in how not to do it, and they’ve spent over £1billion in the process.”
United’s recruitment drive
It seems that Paul Mitchell is poised to be the new sporting director at Old Trafford and that would be a great start for the Red Devils on their recruitment drive.
Souness is certainly right about United’s antics in the decade since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, the transfer spending has been nowhere near good enough.
Mitchell, who has former experience at Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur, is exactly the man who they need at Old Trafford.
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