Manchester United owner criticizes club facilities: “A shame” | english football

With another bad season in the sporting sphere, Manchester United sees a new focus of problems and internal criticism emerging. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the club’s new football rights holder, visited the Old Trafford Stadium and the Carrington training center, which hosts the main activities of the English team’s youth teams, and was harshly critical of what he saw.

According to the English newspapers The Guardian and The Athletic, the billionaire, who runs United’s football, was quite irritated by the current situation in the different spaces he was in. The vehicles reported, this Friday, that the agent sent an email with orders for changes in the treatment of spaces.

— I had a nice tour of some of the facilities. I was shocked in several places by a high level of disorganization. In particular, in the IT department, which is a disgrace, and the under-18 and under-21 changing rooms are not much better — says an excerpt from the statement written by Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe is the richest man in the United Kingdom and holds the positions of founder, president and largest shareholder of the INEOS group, a global powerhouse in the petrochemical industry. According to the English press, the billionaire also made a comparison between the conditions of the business group and Manchester United.

— These standards (of cleanliness and organization) do not come close to what I expect at INEOS, and we are a petrochemical industry. Manchester United is an elite sporting organization. It’s a small thing on many levels, but if an organization doesn’t have standards and discipline, it won’t be successful,” he added.

According to The Athletic, some employees were surprised to receive the email. The initial response from some was to consider the feedback insulting and exaggerated, but other employees told the outlet that they felt this attack on United’s standards was necessary to alert underperforming colleagues in the organization.

Ratcliffe initially appeared to be solely focused on United football. According to the English press, the scenario is changeable, as some people understand that other sectors of the club need to be under the billionaire’s command.

Dreaming of a European place next season, Manchester United is in sixth place and takes the field next Monday in the English Championship. With 54 points, the Ratcliffe club visits Crystal Palace for the 36th round of the competition. The ball rolls at 4pm (Brasília time) and ge follows the confrontation in real time.