Kieran Maguire: Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ‘legacy’ is on the line as Man United spending cuts on cards
Sir Jim Ratcliffe would prioritise “spending smarter rather than spending bigger” if he is successful in his bid to take over Man United.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Britain’s richest man and his motivations for his possible investment in the Red Devils.
A source told this site (14 January) earlier this month that Ratcliffe was preparing a formal bid to buy the club from the Glazer family.
And as relayed by BBC Sport last Wednesday (18 January), Ratcliffe’s petrochemical company Ineos has now formally confirmed that they have entered the race.
Ratcliffe, who lost out to a group fronted by American billionaire Todd Boehly in his efforts to take over Chelsea last May, is a boyhood United fan.
Ratcliffe is popular among supporters groups such as The 1958 who believe the 70-year-old would refocus the club’s firepower on sporting rather than commercial success.
Maguire claims that Ratcliffe is looking to secure his legacy with the takeover campaign and one of his first tasks would be to implement a data-driven approach to recruitment.
“I think he wants a legacy,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“He is from Oldham after all.
“In terms of his ownership style, there were certain changes when INEOS acquired Nice, but those changes have not manifested success.
“United are a long way behind the other members of the Big Six in terms of their use of data and analytics with regard to their recruitment and retention strategy.
“I think Sir Jim is a very astute individual who would address this at a very early stage.
“There would be a focus on spending smarter rather than spending bigger. It’s very difficult to identify players who have come to United in recent years and increased in value.“
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