Simon Jordan argues Man Utd man who has 'ego' has 'become the story,' says 'no-one' is talking about real problem

TalkSPORT presenter Simon Jordan has spoken out on the pressure that Ineos chief and Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is facing at Old Trafford.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has come under scathing criticism in the 2024-25 Premier League season amid Manchester United’s disastrous campaign so far.

The 72-year-old British billionaire captured a minority stake in the Premier League club in 2023, with the United co-owner’s stake in the Red Devils ratified in 2024.

Ratcliffe’s Ineos team took control of football operations at Old Trafford as part of the partial takeover and the Red Devils have been hit with cuts in key areas.

The first wave of cost-cutting measures in 2024 saw around 250 members of staff at United be made redundant under the Ineos and Ratcliffe regime.

United also had a rise in matchday ticket prices during the current Premier League campaign, which was met with fierce backlash from Red Devils fans.

Other cuts from Ratcliffe and Co have included plans for dropping Sir Alex Ferguson from his ambassadorial contract and a reduction in salaries for other club legends.

The Premier League club confirmed on Manchester United’s official website only last month that up to a further 200 roles could be made redundant at the Red Devils.

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Jordan on Ratcliffe and Ineos

Sir Jim Ratcliffe increased his share in Manchester United last December, with the Ineos chief moving from a 27.7 per cent stake to a 28.94 per cent stake.

The Glazers remain the majority owners of the Premier League club, despite Red Devils fans’ vehement opposition to their controversial ownership of United.

Simon Jordan has claimed that “no-one” talks about the Glazers now and Ineos boss Ratcliffe has “done them a solid” by taking the attention away from them.

Speaking in his column for The Daily Mail, he said: “I don’t know Sir Jim Ratcliffe personally, so can’t say whether being in the papers endlessly feeds his ego, but sometimes you have to remember it’s the Glazers, not him, who are majority shareholders of Manchester United.

“No-one talks about the Glazers now, so Ratcliffe has done them a solid because he has become the story.

“Ineos are trying to get out of other sports-related deals, but I’ve not heard they are struggling as a commercial operation so don’t think it is a case of Ratcliffe running out of cash.

“If he’s making redundancies at United it will be to save money, not because they haven’t got any.”

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Jordan talks Ratcliffe and Man Utd cost-cutting

Ratcliffe and Co have changed the behind-the-scenes football structure at United and made other sweeping changes since Ineos’ arrival at Old Trafford.

Among the changes last month included United closing their staff canteen and offering a free piece of fruit instead, while working from home was ended in 2024.

Jordan insisted that the changes won’t end badly for United and suggested that non-football people will “look at aspects” very “differently” when they enter the sport.

“I don’t feel there is going to be a car crash at United, although in football normal business vagaries don’t always exist because some silly b—— at the top is always going to write a cheque to cover somebody else’s shortcomings,” he continued.

“Successful people from outside can come into the sport and look at aspects of it differently.

“More often than not, despite making initial inroads into adopting better business practices inside their new shiny assets, they learn to move the needle slightly and get on with it, even if what they have paid for something isn’t worth it, either economically or emotionally.”

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