Michael Owen has admitted that it is a “question” of when Manchester United will climb back to the top of English football and win the Premier League title again.
The 45-year-old former Liverpool striker played for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson and lifted the Premier League title with the Red Devils in 2011.
United have struggled in the aftermath of the Sir Alex Ferguson era at Old Trafford after the legendary former Red Devils manager bowed out as head coach in 2013.
Ferguson, who is considered one of the best managers of all time, engineered all 13 of United’s Premier League title wins during his remarkable managerial career.
United have failed to lift the Premier League title since the end of the 2012-13 campaign, with Ferguson subsequently retiring from management.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who became co-owner of the Premier League club in 2023, has been eager to return the Red Devils’ prestige since Ferguson’s retirement.
The 72-year-old Ineos chief said back in February that he wanted to “knock” both Manchester City and Liverpool “off their perch.
Owen’s new Man Utd prediction
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made sweeping changes at Old Trafford after Ineos took control of football operations at Manchester United.
The British billionaire has appointed key figures behind the scenes at United, including Omar Berrara’s arrival from Manchester City as the club’s chief executive.
Ratcliffe and Co have also installed Ruben Amorim as the new United manager after Erik ten Hag was sacked following the poor start to the 2024-25 campaign.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Michael Owen has predicted that United will once again be champions and the club are “too big” not to be in contention.
But the ex-Liverpool and United star claimed that the important “question” is around the time frame that it will take for the Red Devils to successfully challenge again.
According to Owen, it could take United anywhere from three to 15 years to win the Premier League title for the first time without Sir Alex Ferguson in charge.
“It’s just a question as to whether it’s in three years, five years, 10 years, or 15 years, but pretty much a guarantee that they’re going to win it in that time period,” he said.
“They’re probably going to have the best stadium in the world in five years’ time. They’re probably going to be champions again and all these things go in cycles.
“They’re too big. They’re too rich. They’re too much of a fan base to keep them down for too long.
“It’s been quite incredible that they’ve been down for this long, actually. As I say, they’re going to get it right. It’s just a question of when.”
Ratcliffe’s time frame for Man Utd
Ratcliffe refused to play down the challenge awaiting Ineos at United and previously said that a “three-year plan” could take the club back to the top of English football.
“The fans would run out of patience if it was a 10-year plan,” he said, as per The Guardian in February.
“But it’s certainly a three-year plan to get there.
“To think that we’re going to be playing football as good as Manchester City played against Real Madrid last year by next season is not sensible. And if we give people false expectations, then they will get disappointed.
“So I think the key thing is our trajectory, so that people can see that we’re making progress. Because it’s not easy to turn Manchester United into the world’s best football team.”
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