Man United staff ‘have grievances against Jim Ratcliffe’ – new details emege
Manchester United employees have grievances against Sir Jim Ratcliffe after several members of staff have reportedly applied for jobs at a rival club.
That is the view of former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider it’s easy for a story about the goings on behind the scenes at Old Trafford to make its way into the press.
Widespread reports have suggested Ratcliffe has caused upset within the workforce following his cost-cutting measures since taking charge of footballing operations in early 2024.
The Athletic reported on 24 December the commercial director at another north-west club is sitting on around a dozen applications from current United employees after 250 members of staff were made redundant at Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe has also infuriated fans with hiked ticket prices and the poor handling of Erik ten Hag’s new contract before his subsequent sacking just months later.
Jim Ratcliffe hasn’t faced Man United level of scrutiny before
Borson admitted the United co-owner will not have faced as much scrutiny previously in his other businesses.
“Ratliffe has got his approach,” Borson told Football Insider.
“It’s come from industrials and petrochemicals, and maybe businesses that are less people-orientated than football clubs.
“I think it’s blindingly obvious that if you run Manchester United and you remove 250 people plus some high-profile people, it’s very unlikely that what’s going on in the club isn’t going to find its way into the press. That’s the nature of the beast.
“It’s really easy to find a journalist who is interested in a story about what’s going on inside Manchester United. A lot of people have got a grievance and then there is also the competition.
“The clubs that have got the 12 applications from United people on their WhatsApp’s with their favourite journalists, they are going to say ‘You are never going to believe how many CVs we have got from people at United at the moment’.
“It’s a good sort of thing that you are going to find seeping out.
“You are not going to get that in the petrochemicals industry because it’s not interesting to the outside world if you sack 250 people in a Perspex business, which is the sort of thing he’s historically purchased.
“It’s just a different beast. But the proof in the pudding on Ratcliffe at United will be over a five or 10-year period.
“There is probably going to be a bit of pain to take for quite a while, and then it will either work or it won’t.”
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