Jim Ratcliffe ‘massively overplayed’ Man United’s financial issues after deal agreed
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe “massively overplayed” the club’s financial issues following their big-money signing of Benjamin Sesko.
The INEOS chief took over the Premier League side’s footballing operations in February 2024 after purchasing a 27.7 per cent stake for £1.25billion.
Ratcliffe has since increased his stake in Man United to 28.9 per cent after injecting £238million into the club.
The 72-year-old claimed earlier this year United would have gone “bust by Christmas” if it wasn’t for his cost-cutting measures, which have seen hundreds of staff made redundant at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim’s side have spent more than £200million on signing Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, Diego Leon and Sesko, who joined from RB Leipzig for £73.7million including add-ons.
United have also been linked with Carlos Baleba, but Brighton are believed to be looking for a fee in excess of £100million.
The Manchester giants posted a club-record revenue of £661.8million in 2023-24 despite recording a net loss of £113.2million.
Man United predicting huge profits
This article contains exclusive comment from Stefan Borson, a former financial adviser to Man City.
United endured a challenging 2024-25 season after finishing 15th in the Premier League table and losing in the Europa League final to Tottenham.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: “We always knew that the financial issues were overplayed.
“We spoke before about how we had this contrast between what Ratcliffe was saying in February versus what they were saying in their public documentation to the New York Stock Exchange, where they were effectively predicting the most profitable year in the last six years.
“So, it’s not a surprise that he massively overplayed it and made lots of excuses for why they were making the redundancies that they were making.”
Chelsea told to increase Alejandro Garnacho bid by £10m
In terms of a potential exit at Old Trafford, Football Insider revealed on 8 August Chelsea are pushing to agree a deal for Alejandro Garnacho.
Enzo Maresca’s side are currently willing to pay £40million to land the winger, while United are holding out for their £50million valuation if they are to sell.
Garnacho started in 36 of his 58 outings last season, where he registered 11 goals and 10 assists.
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