Paul Scholes expressed his dissatisfaction with Ineos' first year of ownership of Manchester United, and claimed that he “can't think of a positive thing they've done for the football club”.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of Ineos, struck a deal with the Glazer family last December, which saw them buy 27.7 per cent of United with the promise of revitalizing the club on and off the field.
But since then, there have been a series of unpopular decisions, including an efficiency drive that saw a quarter of the club's workforce sacked – many in low-paid jobs – while children's ticket prices skyrocketed.
Trust the process. pic.twitter.com/3Zw8AH5Bks
– Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 6, 2025
Things weren't any better on the playing side either with the decision to hand former coach Erik ten Hag a new deal in the summer backfiring. The Dutchman was subsequently sacked in October, with his replacement Ruben Amorim getting off to a slow start at Old Trafford. United are currently ranked 13th in the Premier League.
“Things are getting worse on the field.”
“(Ineos Group) has been in charge of (Manchester United) for almost a year now and everything is still negative. Scholes, the former United and England midfielder, told The Overlap Fan Debate: 'I can't think of anything positive they've done for Football Club.”
“Things are getting worse at the football stadium, so couldn't they have just said they would sell cheaper tickets – couldn't they give us something positive? How can you ask Manchester United fans to pay more money for what's at the football stadium?”
“£66 a ticket is ridiculous. If you think about Manchester, there are a lot of deprived areas, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe himself is from Failsworth, which is a deprived area. If you take one child with you, that's £120, and if you take a family, you You would expect £300-400 – that's not true.
“Where do these owners get the front to raise ticket prices? For value, we are probably having our worst season ever in the Premier League and they have the audacity to raise prices.
Nothing positive – Scholes
Scholes added: “There is nothing positive happening with this football club. The team looks average. They don't do anything for the fans.
“If we have Sir Jim Ratcliffe, compared to all these American owners, who has been a United fan since growing up in an area of Manchester, he is still raising prices. It just shows they don't care.”
Ratcliffe has spoken of his willingness to make tough decisions, and even claimed it might boost his popularity with some supporters.
“At Manchester United, I have to do some unpopular things,” he told Bloomberg over the summer.
“I mean, I think eventually doing hard things and, you know, a degree of unpopularity, in a funny way, might make you more popular.
“Because someone sees you standing up and making some tough decisions instead of just winding up a little.”
