Who is Sir Jim Ratcliffe and what has he done at Man U? Ineos boss criticises Casemiro, Antony and Sancho | OneFootball

Britain’s richest man has had a rocky first season in charge of Premier League giants

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has attacked Manchester United’s players, calling them “not good enough” and “overpaid” in an interview where he also admitted that not sacking Erik ten Hag last summer was a mistake.

The team’s co-owner called out Casemiro, Antony, Jadon Sancho, Rasmus Højlund and André Onana for underperforming as the Red Devils languish in 14th place in the Premier League table, despite drawing 1-1 with Arsenal at the weekend.

All the mentioned players were signed under ten Hag, before he joined, and getting rid of the Dutch manager was an early act by the co-owner.

He added: “These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we’ve inherited those things and have to sort that out.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has sensationally lambasted a number of players signed under former ownership

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It is unusual for club owners to criticise current players so publicly but Sir Jim did temper his comments by stating Ruben Amorim, whom he appointed manager, would stay “for a long time”.

But while United have flattered to deceive on the pitch, the Ineos founder has also been heavily criticised for his actions off the field that have seen a number of cost-cutting measures.

Sir Jim has hit back and claimed that the club would have “gone bust by Christmas” had he not taken action.

Here is a look at who Sir Jim is and what he has done in his first year at the helm.

Team Ineos was Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s entry into cycling in 2019

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Who is Sir Jim Ratcliffe?

The 72-year-old was born in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, and is a lifelong fan of United.

He is from working class roots, with father working as a joiner and his mother was an accounts office worker. Sir Jim and his family moved to East Yorkshire when he was 10. He lived there up until he was 18.

What is Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s net worth and how did he make his money?

Bloomberg estimates he is worth £18.6 billion, making him one of the wealthiest people in Britain.

He attended the University of Birmingham and graduated in 1974, going onto make his fortune in the chemicals industry.

He was a co-founder of Inspec, and in 1998, his fortunes flew when he went on to buy out Inspec and form Ineos. His company sells a diverse range of products, from synthetic oils and plastics to solvents used to make insulin and antibiotics.

Today, he still owns two-thirds of Ineos, which has an estimated turnover of $80 billion (£59.3 billion).

Outside of sport, Sir Jim owns the 78-metre long Hampshire II yacht and also owns 50 per cent of the Pig Hotels business group.

Sir Jim is in good shape for a man in his 70s and finished last year’s London Marathon

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With Ineos, Sir Jim has sponsored the former Team Sky cycling team and has owned Swiss football club FC Lausanne-Sport. He had previously made approached to by Chelsea FC but in 2019 was unwilling to meet Roman Abramovich’s £2.5 billion estimation of the club, moving on to buy Nice football club instead.

Ineos has also had sponsorship deals with Tottenham Hotspur, the New Zealand All Blacks rugby side and has bankrolled a British America’s Cup sailing team. In 2019, Ineos sponsored Eliud Kipchoge’s successful attempt to break two hours for a marathon at an event in Vienna.

However, the company has become embroiled in a breach of sponsorship case with the All Blacks taking them to the court.

It has also pulled out of its America’s Cup partnership with Sir Ben Ainslie and is said to be in talks about ending its Spurs partnership early.

The Ineos Grenadiers cycling team is to continue into 2026 but has been seeking new partners, reports the BBC. However, insiders have said that the interest is waning.

Former world tour directeur sportif Johan Bruyneel told The Move podcast of the team: “You also see it in the riders they’re recruiting. They’ve mainly recruited young talents and haven’t signed any expensive contracts. I see it as the beginning of the end.”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe after the memorial service for the victims of the 1958 Munich Air Disaster at Old Trafford

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What has Sir Jim done at Manchester United?

Ineos has controlled the football operations at Manchester United after Sir Jim last year completed a £1.25billion deal for a 27.7 per cent stake - which was later increased to 28.94 per cent.

The deal was controversial with Greenpeace stating that it was an example of sportswashing - where a company or country’s image is improved through investment in sport.

“Ineos is a major producer of plastic, toxic pesticides and fossil fuels, as well as one of the UK’s leading fracking firms,” Greenpeace said in a statement. “Having already plastered its brand all over cycling, sailing, football, running and rugby, Ineos is the undisputed champion of sportswashing.”

Nonetheless, Sir Jim has been hoping to get the club back on track with Man U having been owned by the unpopular Glazer family. The six children of the late Malcolm Glazer – Avram, Joel, Kevin, Bryan, Darcie and Edwards, each taking an equal share of a 9 per cent stake owned by their father after his death in 2014.

The Glazers have been unpopular as the club, which had previously been secure financially, took on a large amount of debt to finance the takeover in 2005. The then-new American owners borrowed money against Manchester United and the club has since been making larger interest payments to allow the Glazers to continue their ownership. The Glazers took out £175m in dividends and share buybacks, according to Tifo, without putting any money into the club.

Sir Jim has frequrntly been spotted in the Old Trafford stands

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This has meant the club has been unable to finance a new stadium or compete on the same playing field as their rivals Manchester City.

Sir Jim and Ineos have both overseen a number of tough decisions aimed at tackling the club’s difficult financial situation. Many of these have proven deeply unpopular among supporters and attracted persistent negative headlines, coupled with worsening fortunes on the pitch.

Decisions, that included redundancies, cutting annual contributions to a charity supporting former players, raising ticket prices, ending Sir Alex Ferguson’s ambassadorial contract and closing its staff canteen, have been unpopular.

But Sir Jim has said that they were needed with United having lost more than £300m over the past three years, despite being one of the biggest revenue-generating teams on the planet.

“Manchester United would have run out of money at the end of this year. November this year, the club runs out of cash,” Sir Jim told Gary Neville in an interview on The Overlap.

In September 2020, Sir Jim moved to tax-free Monaco, where it is estimated that he will save up to £4 billion a year on tax payments. He also has a property in Hampshire and spends time in both nations.

Sir Jim married Amanda Townson in 1985 but they later divorced in 1995. They have two sons, George and Samuel. Jim also has one daughter, from a previous relationship, with Maria Alessia Maresca, an Italian tax lawyer. His current partner is Catherine Polli.