Having spent one season under INEOS’ ownership at Nice, Aaron Ramsey has shared a glowing verdict on how Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his entourage run a football club.
February 2025 will mark a full year since INEOS’ 27.7 per cent stake in Manchester United was ratified by the Premier League following a lengthy wait.
Their proposal, worth £1.25 billion, was preferred to competitor Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani’s numerous multi-billion bids, as the Qatari banker had hoped to buy the Glazers out entirely.
Now, eight months into Ratcliffe and Co.’s reign, they’ve already had to navigate numerous critical decisions. Choosing to offload Mason Greenwood upon his return from his loan spell with Getafe rather than reintegrating him into the squad was one they had to get right instantaneously, or else risk damaging their image with supporters – and the media – from the get-go.
On the other hand, there have been some orders of business which have raised eyebrows. Severe cost-cutting measures have seen around 250 employees made redundant; even first-team veteran Jonny Evans spoke out to address the situation, acknowledging that such happenings had been ‘difficult to see’.
It was confirmed last week that INEOS had decided to terminate Sir Alex Ferguson’s ambassadorial contract with the club, a role which he had held since his 2013 departure. The club legend earned a reported £2m per year but will step down from the position at the end of the year, though he is likely to still attend games either home or away.
Ramsey tips INEOS to have an ‘unbelievable’ impact at Old Trafford
Per The Athletic, credit cards have been removed from senior executives, while free travel for staff for May’s FA Cup final against Manchester City was also cancelled.
It’s pretty remarkable given that the summer window culminated with United being the second-highest spenders in the Premier League, forking out over £200m on incomings. They now sit 12th-placed in the table, and INEOS must again consider whether Erik ten Hag is the man they want at the helm moving forward after awarding him a two-year contract extension in July.
Speaking on tonight’s Monday Night Football instalment, Ramsey relayed his experiences with United’s part-owners.
“They wanted to invest a lot into Nice and make that a hub in European football. I think the ambition with Sir Jim as well, him being a United fan and with him now having the chance to own them, they’ll do an unbelievable job there – it’s just going to take a little bit of time,” the Welshman confidently told the panel. “I think they are very driven people, and they’re only used to being the best at what they do.”
"They'll do an unbelievable job, it'll just take a little bit of time" ⏳
Aaron Ramsey shares his thoughts on INEOS and Dave Brailsford, who he worked with during his time at Nice 💭 pic.twitter.com/9yazQLilNr
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 21, 2024
Footage courtesy of Sky Sports.
