Sir Jim Ratcliffe claims he would leave Man United if he got the same level of abuse as the Glazers - who he claims have 'retreated into the shadows' since his arrival
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe has warned that he would walk away from Manchester United if he got as much abuse from fans as the Glazer family.
Ratcliffe, who also said he would quit if he failed to turn United’s fortunes around, has come under fire from supporters over his running of the club and the prospect of further ticket price rises.
The 72-year-old Ineos billionaire was confronted by angry United fans at Fulham in January and admits he would sell up if it got so bad that he needed personal security or had to stay away from Old Trafford like the Glazers.
‘It can be unpleasant,’ said Ratcliffe. ‘I mean, I can put up with it for a while.
'I don’t mind being unpopular because I get that nobody likes seeing Manchester United down where they are, and nobody likes the decisions we’re having to make at the moment.
‘If I draw a bit of the ire, I can put up with that. But I’m no different to the average person. It’s not nice, particularly for friends and family.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe claims he would leave Man United if subjected to same level of abuse as the Glazers
Manchester United fans have long opposed the Glazers and pressure ramped up recently
Thousands of fans took part in protests against the Glazers before facing Arsenal last week
'So, eventually, if it reached the extent that the Glazer family have been abused, then I’d have to say, “look, enough’s enough guys, let somebody else do this”.
‘They can’t really come to a match, the Glazers. They’ve retreated into the shadows a bit now, so I’m getting all the bloody stick.
‘We bought in and I haven’t seen them since. It’s, “thank you, Jim, you’re doing a really good job”.
'At the moment, I don’t have security, I don’t have to walk around like that. But it would defeat the object, wouldn’t it? You couldn’t tolerate it at that level, it just wouldn’t be fun.
‘I haven’t had it so far, not really. I had that guy through the car window at the Fulham match that got arsey with me, but I haven’t had what I would call threatening behaviour.’
Ratcliffe has been left to run United since investing £1.3billion in a deal that allowed the Glazers to retain a controlling interest in the club.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, he risked upsetting United fans even more by praising the unpopular American owners – particularly for their understanding after Ineos blundered by handing Erik ten Hag a contract extension and hiring director of football Dan Ashworth.
‘To be fair to the Glazers, they’re really good on the commercial side,’ said Ratcliffe.
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‘The people who advise me say the fans don’t want to hear it. So I’ve got to be cautious. I get a lot of criticism if I support the Glazers, but the fact is they’re really decent people.
‘They’re very polite, they’re very civilized, they’re the nicest people on the planet. There isn’t a bad bone in Joel Glazer’s body.
‘We have a very professional partnership with the Glazer family. To be honest, they could have given us a bloody hard time after we cocked up with Dan Ashworth and Erik ten Hag? Could have, but didn’t.’
Ratcliffe believes the root of United problems was having Ed Woodward and then Richard Arnold as chief executives before Ineos took over and made changes.
‘I wouldn’t have tolerated Ed Woodward or Richard Arnold,’ added Ratcliffe.
‘Richard was a rugby man, he didn’t even understand football. Ed didn’t have the credentials to manage the club. He was a merchant banker, an accountant.
‘The way I look at it is that you had two management teams at Manchester United for the past 12 years who did a poor job.
‘They’ve made a lot of very poor decisions over 12 years, stupid things. They made a complete cock-up of it, shocking really.
‘To be honest with you, if I fail, I’ll step down. But I don’t think I’ll fail. As soon as we start playing good football and start winning, it will change.’
