After having the chance to meet Sir Jim Ratcliffe a few weeks ago, journalist Mark Ogden revealed what he was told by certain Manchester United staff members about the new owner.
The Manchester United faithful will be hopeful that the arrival of INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s partial ownership of the club will usher in a new chapter for the team.
After pessimism around the club because of poor on-field performances, the arrival of Sir Jim feels like a breath of fresh air.
The fans have started to believe again and the British billionaire, who is a boyhood United fan, has vowed to take the club back to it’s former glory days.
According to Mark Ogden, who spoke with the Football Daily podcast, the new minority owner has already had a good effect on the staff.
“A couple of hours before the game, he came into the media room at Old Trafford and it was arranged so he could, as United put it, meet the people who he feels are important to the club i.e the media represent the voice of the fans, less so than they used to back in the day, but they still do,” he said.
“He came in and said, look I can’t answer any of your questions because of the ongoing situation with the ratification of the Premier League, but I’ll take questions. And he did. He confirmed that the investment will be signed off by mid-February.
“He had a presence, and I think that that is important. He’s got a charisma about him. Obviously, he’s a self-made multi-billionaire, so he’s obviously got something about him. You sense that in the room for five minutes.
“I’ve been speaking to people at the club, he basically spoke to staff about 10 days, two weeks ago, just to introduce himself. And they were basically saying that they came out there feeling 10 foot tall, the staff. Because for the last 20 years, they’ve had none of that. They’ve had absentee owners. And basically, they’ve been told just sweat the brand as much as you can, grow the brand as much as you can, and make this club make loads of money.
“And Ratcliffe came in and said I’ve made my money, I want to win. And they said it was brilliant to hear this guy saying he wants to win.”
It seems like Ratcliffe has already won over the staff with his involvement in the club and how he’s willing to work together with them to take United back to the top of English football.
After the disappointment under the Glazers ownership, the people around the club are starting to believe things are about to take a positive turn from now on.
