Fixing Man United will take ‘two or three seasons’, Sir Jim Ratcliffe claims… as the Ineos chief reveals he won’t ‘get the cheque book’ out and spend millions on a short-term fix

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has revealed he is in it for the long haul at Manchester United and won’t spend millions on a short-term fix.

Ratcliffe took a 27.7 per cent stake in United on Christmas Eve for £1.3bn – with the deal ratified by the Premier League on Tuesday – after a long-winded sale process that began in November 2022. 

The British billionaire has plenty on his plate as he takes control of football operations of a team who haven’t won the Premier League in 11 years.

He has already made encouraging strides, with the Red Devils swooping for Man City‘s Omar Berrada, who will become United’s new CEO, while an approach has also been made for Newcastle United‘s sporting director Dan Ashworth, with Ratcliffe pledging to restore the club to the top of world football.

Despite the promising early signs, Ratcliffe insisted fixing the club will take time and outlined how he won’t splash large sums of money on a stop-gap solution.

Ratcliffe insisted he wouldn’t just spend millions on a short-term fix for Erik ten Hag’s squad

‘Quite often in football people just get the cheque book out and they think it’s all going to be solved in the summer transfer window,’ he told Bloomberg Television. 

‘That’s proven many many times to not end well. (Turning United around) will take us two or three seasons.’

While the hugely unpopular Glazers remain in ultimate control of United, there is hope the Ineos chief will bring several positive changes to the club, with Ratcliffe announcing his desire to improve the environment and structure surrounding Erik ten Hag’s first team.

Ratcliffe has also announced his aim to improve United’s ailing infrastructure, with the 71-year-old describing Old Trafford as ‘tired and in need of refurbishment‘.

Several options are on the table, with the possibility of