Sir Jim Ratcliffe outlines plans for success and glamor at Manchester United

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has set out his vision to bring some of Eric Cantona’s flair and flair back to Old Trafford.

The 71-year-old Ineos founder and chairman wants the club he has supported since the age of six to mount a serious challenge to “wavey” north-west neighbors Manchester City and Liverpool for domestic and European titles within three seasons, and “knock them both out of their park”.

In a wide-ranging briefing, Ratcliffe also:

:: He outlined his hopes of redeveloping Old Trafford at a cost of around £1billion, or building a new £2billion state-backed stadium that could host England games, the FA Cup finals and the Premier League finals Hosting champions.

:: Dan Ashworth has been tipped to be a “very good addition” to Manchester United’s leadership as sporting director and said it would be “absurd” if he stayed on gardening leave after leaving Newcastle.

:: He promised a new decision would be made regarding Mason Greenwood’s future.

:: Joke about whether Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim, his long-time rival for full control of United, was even there.

Ratcliffe, who will own a 28.9 per cent stake in United by the end of the year and whose company Ineos now controls football operations at Old Trafford, did the interview with a badge wearing United’s number seven shirt tucked behind him, collar turned up in the fashion of 1990s club hero Eric Cantona.

“(Cantona) was the catalyst for change in the Sir Alex Ferguson era … and then that kind of started everything. He was the kind of talisman,” Ratcliffe said.

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“Manchester United has always had a bit of glamour, which has been missing for the last few years. You’ve had George Best, Bobby Charlton, Eric the King for a while.

“At the end of the day we are in the entertainment business. That’s why you don’t want to watch dull football or football without character.

“And to be honest, since Christmas, with the young lads, they’ve played great football.

“There were some great games. I don’t remember many games at the start of the season that I had a lot of fun but since Christmas we’ve played some great football and some of these footballers have a bit of glamor on the pitch, and we’ve had a lot of fun. Enjoy.

“The three young lads (Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo) sitting on the sideboard – that was a good picture. So I think that’s really the point ‘Eric’. We understand that this requires a bit of glamour.”

Ratcliffe says improving the club’s recruitment record is “top of the list” of things to get right, and has publicly stated his club’s interest in Dan Ashworth, who has been placed on gardening leave at Newcastle after expressed a desire to leave the Tyneside club.

“I think he would be a very good addition for Manchester United, but he (Ashworth) has to decide if he is going to make that leap,” Ratcliffe said.

“Obviously we had words with Newcastle. They would obviously be disappointed to lose Dan. I can understand why they would be disappointed to lose Dan but then you can’t fairly criticize Dan for being a transient industry.

“So we’ll have to see how it develops.”

Ratcliffe said it would be “a bit silly” to take £20million to secure Ashworth’s services, adding: “What I think is completely absurd is to suggest that a man who is very good in his job, sitting in his garden for one. a year and a half.”

Also crucial to the transformation is what Ratcliffe sees as either a redeveloped Old Trafford or a new stadium built partly with state support.

Ratcliffe said a task force would be set up to look into the possibility of the latter option and agreed that former Manchester United defender Gary Neville was an “obvious” person.

Ratcliffe sees no problem with one of the world’s richest clubs in United seeking state support for such a project.

“The people in the north pay their taxes like the people in the south pay their taxes,” he said.

“But where is the national football stadium? It is in the south. Where is the national rugby stadium? It is in the south. Where is the national stadium for tennis? It is in the south. Where is the national concert stadium? It’s the O2, it’s in the south. Where is the Olympic Village? It is in the south.

“There’s all this talk about leveling up and the Northern Powerhouse… where’s the northern stadium? How many Champions Leagues have the north west won and how many Champions Leagues has London won? The answer to that is that the north-west has won 10 – Liverpool have won more than us – and London has won two.

“Where do you have to go if you get to the FA Cup semi-final and you’re a northern club? You have to schlep down to London, don’t you?

“People in the north pay their taxes and there is an argument that you could think of a more ambitious project in the north that would suit England, the Champions League final or the FA Cup final and act as a catalyst for the to regenerate the south. Manchester, which has a significant history in the UK.”