SIR JIM RATCLIFFE has admitted some of Manchester United’s players are “NOT GOOD ENOUGH” to be at the club in an astonishing interview.
United are currently a shell of the club they were when legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson was at the Old Trafford helm.
Over the years, the Red Devils have signed several high-profile players to extraordinarily lucrative contracts.
Several of those expensive signings have been a financial disaster, which Ratcliffe signalled includes some who remain at the club.
The INEOS chief told The BBC: “Some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid.
“But for us to mould the squad that we are fully responsible for, and accountable for, will take time.
“We’ve got this period of transformation where we move from the past to the future.
“There are some great players in the squad as we know, the captain is a fabulous footballer.
“We definitely need Bruno Fernandes, he’s a fantastic footballer.”
Ratcliffe officially acquired a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United last February, having agreed a deal with the Glazer family the previous December.
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And he was soon confronted by the fact the club still have outstanding payments on players they signed before he arrived at Old Trafford.
He said: “If you look at the players we are buying this summer, that we didn’t buy, we’re buying Antony.
“We’re buying Casemiro, we’re buying [Andre] Onana, we’re buying Hojlund, we’re buying Sancho.
“These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we’ve inherited those things and have to sort that out.
“For [Jadon] Sancho, who now plays for Chelsea and we pay half his wages, we’re paying £17m to buy him in the summer.”
Erik ten Hag was at the helm when Ratcliffe became a major shareholder in the club.
United, however, have continued to flounder following the November appointment of new gaffer Ruben Amorim.
The Red Devils have lost nine of their 26 games under the Portuguese and are an incredible 36 points behind Premier League table-toppers Liverpool.
But the former Sporting Lisbon chief Amorim currently has the full support of Ratcliffe and the rest of the United brass.
He said: “If I actually look at the squad which is available to Ruben, I think he is doing a really good job to be honest.
“I think Ruben is an outstanding young manager. I really do. He’s an excellent manager and I think he will be there for a long time.
“You are beginning to see a glimpse of what Ruben can produce. I think you saw a glimpse of it against Arsenal.
“How many players against Arsenal on the bench did you recognise?
“How many have ever worn a Manchester United shirt for [the first team]… as there’s no squad left.
“We are down to the last 10 or 11 men in the squad really, of proper first-team players. Ruben is doing a super job.”
In an interview with Sky Sports, Ratcliffe expanded on his point about Amorim dealing with a depleted squad.
He said: “So if you modify our salary bill for the players that are not available to Ruben, then our salary bill ranks us about, you know, middling, second half of the table.
“We’re sort of level with the likes of a Nottingham Forest or Everton, not a Manchester City one.
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“That salary bill, if you look at that salary bill, is probably about £130m, and we’re talking about Liverpool who’s got a salary bill of £200m, Manchester City have got a salary bill of £300m, so that’s the squad that Ruben’s playing with.”
United will be back in action on Thursday evening, welcoming Real Sociedad to Old Trafford for the second leg of their Europa League last 16 tie.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
