Sir Jim Ratcliffe tells Manchester United staff what he ‘does not care about’ and makes pledge, it’s so different from the Glazers

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Manchester United have started a new year with new hope, thanks to Ineos’ partial takeover at the club.

The key condition of Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s Ineos investment in Manchester United was to have full sporting control of the club.

The plans are slowly clicking into gear, with Ratcliffe seen at Old Trafford this week, and holding a meeting with manager Erik ten Hag.

Then yesterday the billionaire and advisor Sir Dave Brailsford met with staff at Carrington to outline their visit for the club.

Ratcliffe visit well received

The Athletic reported leaks from staff at the event, who say Ratcliffe and Brailsford left a positive impression.

The key takeaways were Ratcliffe making clear that he ‘does not care about’ making money from Manchester United, and is here for the sporting project.

Success will reportedly be judged on silverware, as it should be, instead of the balance sheet.

There was also a key pledge made, that Ratcliffe, Brailsford, or other key leaders among the Ineos team such as incoming chief executive Jean-Claude Blanc will be ‘present’ at Carrington and Old Trafford throughout their tenure at the club.

So different to the Glazers

While Ineos and the Glazers may have an unofficial agreement not to criticise each other, for the good of the club and their working partnership, via The Times, these comments lay out huge differences.

Sporting success has not been the priority for the Glazers over the past two decades. This has been clear from the way the club has been run, commercial first. Even now, in ceding sporting control to Ineos, the Glazers have the part of the business they care about.

Making money from the club is their priority, shown by the way they have taken out dividends, rewarding themselves amid the failures they have overseen.

In terms of being present, the Glazers being anywhere near Old Trafford is a rarity. We’d be surprised if they even know where Carrington is.

With such disinterest shown from the very top, and under-qualified figures like Ed Woodward placed in charge, is it any wonder this club has lurched from crisis to crisis since the strong leadership of Sir Alex Ferguson was removed?

Ineos’ actions will speak louder than words, but by simply being present and showing interest, they will already be differentiating themselves from the Glazers.