“They’re having a pretty hard time as a business.”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is said to want to buy shares of Manchester Unitedcriticized the Red Devils in a 2019 interview, accusing them of spending “silly money” on Fred.

Ratcliffe is one of the richest men in the world and a lifelong Manchester United supporter. In a recent interview, his spokesman revealed that the billionaire would be interested in buying the club if the club’s current owners, the Glazer family, sought to sell it.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to buy stake in Manchester United, spokesman says @DickinsonTimes: “If the club is sold, Jim is definitely a potential buyer,” told The Times. #MUFC

“If possible, we’d like to talk from the point of view of long-term ownership,” added.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to buy stake in Manchester United, spokesman says @DickinsonTimes: “If the club is sold, Jim is definitely a potential buyer,” told The Times. #MUFC“If possible, we’d like to talk from the point of view of long-term ownership,” added. https://t.co/CQCxfdUbJT

The businessman may not have many fans in the Glazers family, courtesy of an old interview where he openly criticized their way of doing business. In a 2019 interview with the Times, Ratcliffe claimed that the Manchester United owners had no idea what they were doing, criticizing them for splashing money on 29-year-old midfielder Fred in 2018.

He said (via Daily Star):

“They are having a pretty hard time as a business. They don’t have the right to choose a manager, don’t buy well. They used to [spending] silly amount of money, which you see with players like Fred. “

The Mancunians have signed Brazilian midfielder Fred for a reported fee of around £47m from Shakhtar Donetsk. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to justify his hefty price tag, which often plays a role in the Reds’ misfortunes. The Brazil international has so far played 159 matches for the Old Trafford side across competitions, scoring eight goals and 13 assists.

Potential Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made an attractive offer to take over the rival club

A lifelong football fan, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a season ticket holder at Chelsea and attempted to take over the club from Roman Abramovich earlier this year. The Oldham-born billionaire has a net worth of £22 billion and is believed to have bid £4.25 billion to take control of the Blues.

After submitting a large offer, Ratcliffe announced that he only intended to establish a formidable football club in London and not at all thinking of profit. He say:

“We made an offer this morning. We are British sole bidder. Our motive is simply to try and create a very good club in London. We have no profit motive because we make money in other ways.”

Ratcliffe’s bid was unsuccessful as a consortium led by Todd Boehly became Chelsea’s new owner. It will be interesting to see if he manages his path at United.