Sir Jim Ratcliffe has revealed that he would not have replaced legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson with David Moyes, had he been owner 12 years ago.
Back in 2013, Ferguson provided United with a farewell gift of their 20th English league title, and his 13th, before riding into the sunset after 26 years of service.
Moyes then took the reigns, with the approval of the managerial legend, and was deemed 'The Chosen One' by many United supporters. However, the Scot only last 10 months in the role before being sacked by the Glazer family before the end of the 2013-14 season.
The Red Devils have failed to get their hands on the Premier League trophy ever-since. 11 years on, the club are in free-fall and looking at the prospect of missing out on Europe altogether, let alone fighting for titles.
Ratcliffe and his Ineos ownership group pruchased a minority stake in the club back in February 2024, nearly a decade after Moyes' dismissal, and have been criticised by fans for a series of their own decisions.
However, while still trying to get his own ship in order, in an interview with The Times, Ratcliffe has fired shots at the Glazers decision to appoint Moyes, saying that it would not have happened under his watch.
'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,' said Ratcliffe.
'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.
'So, 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 cocked up with Dan Ashworth and Erik ten Hag? Could have, but didn't.'
More to follow.
