Former Manchester United chief executive David Gill is excited about Jim Ratcliffe taking charge of football operations at Old Trafford, saying anything less than winning is unacceptable for the Red Devils.
Gill served as United’s chief executive from 2003 to 2013, with the team winning five Premier League titles during that period, which coincided with the final decade of Alex Ferguson’s tenure.
However, United have struggled to recapture their former glories since Ferguson’s retirement, with fan dissatisfaction with the club’s owners, the Glazer family, reaching boiling point in recent years.
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In December, it was confirmed that INEOS chairman Ratcliffe had agreed to purchase a 25 per cent stake in the club, in a deal which will see him handed full control of football operations.
United are still waiting for the Premier League to officially sign off on the minority takeover, but Gill is excited about the club’s future under Ratcliffe.
INEOS have had success when investing in other sports, particularly through Dave Brailsford’s involvement in the INEOS Grenadiers cycling team, and Gill expects them to implement sweeping changes.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with Five podcast, Gill said the involvement of experienced operators like Brailsford and INEOS Sport CEO Jean-Claude Blanc gave him hope for the future.
Manchester United reaches agreement for Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS, to acquire up to a 25% shareholding in the Company.#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 24, 2023
“I don’t know Dave Brailsford that much, I’ve met him a few times, but I know Jean-Claude Blanc. He was at Juventus and then Paris Saint-Germain, and I think he’s an experienced executive in the football world and knows what works and what doesn’t work,” Gill said.
“Brailsford has shown, albeit in slightly different sports, that he’s a winner as well, and I think he will leave no stone unturned and think, for example, ‘what’s happened with this appointment?’
“It has got to get approved by the Premier League, but they’re prepared to act quickly and they understand we have to win.
“With the latter days of Arsenal under Arsene (Wenger), they were saying, ‘Champions League is acceptable, get into the top four to get into the Champions League, and have the odd run in the cup.’
“That was deemed to be acceptable. Well, that’s not good enough.
“I think there will be some good moves and I think there are a lot of very good people at Manchester United. It’s not as if we have to get rid of all these people.
“I just think they need a new direction, a new motivation and a new outlook and I think we’ve got that. So I am positive, but the proof will be in the pudding.”
