Sir has blasted two critical decisions taken at Manchester United under the , before revealing his true thoughts on his co-owners. The Glazers have been United's majority owners since taking full control of the club in June 2005.
The American business tycoons' decision to finance their purchase with loans secured against the club's assets was immediately met with furious response by fans. Since then, the , including Old Trafford and Carrington, as well as the team's downward trajectory, has only intensified such antipathy. Ratcliffe and his Ineos ownership group in the club in February 2024, and were handed by the Glazers in an effort to restore the Red Devils' former glory.
Yet, Sir Jim has now openly criticised the decisions made under the Glazers' watch before his arrival. He specifically identified the appointment of David Moyes as the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson's successor and Ed Woodward as executive vice-chairman as major errors.
Both appointments are looked back upon by those affiliated with United as turning points for the club, contributing to their decline in the past decade. "Look, I like David Moyes, and I think he's a really good manager, but to go from Sir Alex Ferguson to Moyes is not where I would have gone," Ratcliffe openly said in an interview with .
"Moyes stepped into the shoes of Ferguson, who's won the Premier League 13 times, who won the Champions League twice and then you're handing over to a guy that has never managed big players and had never won anything. He's not necessarily got the personality to stand in front of them all. And I don't think Real Madrid would have made that choice as coach.
"If you look at coaches, a club can't always get it right, but they should have found the best chief executive in the world, and the best coach in the world, because Manchester United is the best club in the world. Instead they got both of those decisions wrong."
Ferguson said farewell to United in 2013 in the perfect manner, after winning their 20th English league title, his 13th, at the end of a 26-year spell. His handpicked successor, Moyes, however, was shown the door by the Glazers within 10 months of being appointed before the end of the 2013/14 season.
Ratcliffe has already experienced firsthand the challenges of making the right calls at a club where every decision is under intense scrutiny and carries significant consequences. The British billionaire admits he has already made two major blunders during his brief stint as a co-owner.
That includes sticking with the now-sacked Erik ten Hag heading into the current season and wasting millions by appointing Dan Ashworth, also now departed, as sporting director. Yet, Ratcliffe insists his personal relationship with Avram and Joel Glazer has not been affected, even going as far as to praise their character.
Ratcliffe stated: "In my mind, we have a very professional partnership with the Glazer family. But have you met them? They're really honest, straightforward, not what you expect when you read about them in the press.
"And they're both [Avram and Joel] passionate about Manchester United. I like them as people - to be honest, they could have given us a bloody hard time, couldn't they, after we c***ed up with Dan Ashworth and Erik ten Hag? Could have, but didn't."