It has been almost two years since Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired a 27.7 per cent stake in Manchester United – but his time at Old Trafford has been nothing short of chaotic so far
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s worries are mounting at Manchester United, after it was revealed that the Reds have dropped FOUR places in the Deloitte Football Money League.
British businessman Ratcliffe acquired a 27.7 per cent stake in United in a £1.25billion deal at the start of 2024, following an agreement with the Glazers. The 73-year-old was then granted control over footballing and strategic matters at the club, with former Manchester City chief football operations officer Omar Berrada arriving as chief executive and ex-Southampton technical director Jason Wilcox joining in a similar role.
However, the transition for Ratcliffe in his near-two years at Old Trafford has not been straightforward. Erik ten Hag was initially retained as manager following United’s FA Cup victory over Manchester City, only to be sacked just 10 Premier League matches into the 2024/25 season. Then, after spending five months on gardening leave while compensation was agreed with Newcastle, Dan Ashworth was axed as sporting director after just five months.
In addition, more than 400 staff members have been made redundant, while other benefits for members behind-the-scenes were slashed as Ratcliffe attempted to cut the costs with the aim of investing more in the first-team.
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While Ratcliffe has illustrated that he is willing to back the club and spent money in the transfer market – shown by the more than £200million invested last summer despite United having NO European football – he did have to fork out around £27m-£30m to sack Ruben Amorim from his role as head coach earlier this month.
After appointing Amorim as Ten Hag’s permanent replacement in November 2024, the Portuguese lasted just 14 months at the Reds, winning 24 and drawing 18 of his 63 matches in charge. Amorim guided United to the Europa League final last May, but the Reds were unable to win the trophy as they lost 1-0 to Tottenham.
In total, it’s estimated that, including the initial compensation to Sporting CP (around £9m-£11m), the payout for the remainder of his contract (roughly £10m-£12m), and his earnings over his 14-month tenure, United lost between £27m-£30m from the sacking of Amorim, making it a significant financial loss on his short, trophy-less spell.
Alongside United’s failure to win the Europa League in Ratcliffe’s first full season at the club, the Reds finished down in 15th in the Premier League table, their lowest league finish in 50 years.
Speculation about a potential takeover also started again in October last year when Saudi sports promoter Turki Al-Sheikh suggested a deal was imminent with posts on social media. Although any potential move failed to come to fruition, rumours have continued to swirl that the Glazers, who have been in situ at United since 2005, could sell.
If the Glazers do decide to sell United, then a ‘drag along rights’ clause in the agreement when the stake was sold to Ratcliffe would become active. It has therefore then would put a timeline on any full sale of the club.
Indeed, should the Glazers want to fully sell the club before February 2027, then the price of Ratcliffe’s share would have to be above the £24.5m that he paid. However, after that date, the Glazers can accept any price they want and Ratcliffe would be ‘dragged along’ with the sale, even if he loses money in the process.
The construction of a state-of-the-art brand new 100,000 seater stadium is another major talking point involving Ratcliffe and United, with the Reds expected to move forward with plans in the near future. However, ex-Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness shared a theory over investment plans for United earlier this week.
He believes that the club will need additional income to help fund the plans to build a new stadium. Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “I’ve got no doubt there are discussions, and it’s the Glazers that hold the key at the moment, and I’ve got no doubt discussions have happened about the Glazers either bringing in another partner or selling it in some position, and I think Ratcliffe would have little choice on that.
“See the big ramifications of the problems that INEOS have brought on themselves now is things like the debt pile that’s still there in his own company, which means that they will not be able to finance through INEOS or give the proper guarantees, possibly for things like the stadium.
“Now that’s a big long-term project that all the fans were told to buy into. If you like, it was the showpiece of the whole INEOS tenure, that they wanted to show that we’re going to be moving forward and the great new Old Trafford project was going to be born and with the circus tent.
“And it was impressive, but I’m just wondering now how that could be financed in the same way without bringing in outside finance in a more expensive way and that’s going to put more pressure on them.”
It’s safe to say that it hasn’t been a smooth ride for Ratcliffe at United so far and another huge concern for him has now dropped. This is because the Reds have dropped down to eighth in the 2026 Deloitte Football Money League, four places worse off compared to this time last year.
The latest and 29th edition of the Money League shows the 20 highest revenue generating football clubs globally for the 2024/25 season – a campaign in which United progressed into the Europa League final, reached the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup and crashed out of the FA Cup in the fifth round.
In total, United played 61 games – with 30 of those at home – across all competitions and made £166.73m on matchday revenue throughout the campaign. Although that is ranked as the third highest out of anyone in world football – behind Real Madrid and Barcelona – that figure is no doubt going to drop for the 2027 edition. This is because United are set to play just 40 matches in 2025/26 due to no European football and crashing out of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup at the earliest possible stage.
It is due to create even more concern for Ratcliffe, with less money coming through the building from a matchday revenue perspective, meaning less to goes towards Profit and Sustainability (PSR) and spending on the squad.
But the most concerning fact to come from the Money League report is that United’s broadcast revenue dropped from a staggering £225.58m down to £179.84m, largely due to the lack of Champions League football last season. And no European football at all this term will see United’s broadcast money drop a tenfold for the 2027 edition.
The third and final aspect taken into consideration in the Money League is the commercial revenue and United still rank high for that, with £346.76m coming through the building in 2024/25. Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are the only four that rank higher in that regard in world football.
Overall, United generated £693.43m in 2024/25. That is a number that has seen them fall to eighth in the Money League, with Real Madrid (£1.05bn), Barcelona (£852.3m), Bayern Munich (£752.45m), Paris Saint-Germain (£731.81m), Liverpool (£731.03m), Manchester City (£725.08m), Arsenal (£718.44m) above the Reds.
Tottenham, who beat United in the Europa League final, are one place below United in ninth with £588.07m, while Chelsea are down in 10th with £510.70m after competing in the Conference League last season.
Even though United are still generating high revenue, they are falling behind their rivals and it’s only going to get worse with the Reds not in Europe and falling out of the cups at the early stages this campaign.
United’s fall down the Money League is not just a damning indicament of where the Reds are right now from a matchday, broadcast and commercial perspective, it’s another huge worry added to Ratcliffe’s shoulders.
Ratcliffe has got to sort United out – and fast – starting with ensuring Michael Carrick has the squad available to him to qualify for the Champions League next season. If Carrick doesn’t feel as though he does, Ratcliffe must back him in the January transfer window and give him the tools he needs to secure a minimum fifth place finish.
There are no excuses. United do not play in any other competition than the Premier League between now and the end of the season and can just spearhead their focus on the top flight from now on in. The 2-0 win against Manchester City on Saturday has instilled belief and given them a great chance for Champions League qualification.
Getting back on Europe’s top table would boost matchday, broadcast and commercial revenue, giving the Reds a major lift and helping them both be able to spend more and attract better players. It would also lift the pressure on Ratcliffe, following his underwhelming first two years at Old Trafford.
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