Sir Jim Ratcliffe signals end to big-spending at Man Utd, saying discovering talent is way forward

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has signalled an end to Manchester United spending huge sums on superstar names by insisting the club’s focus should be on unearthing the “next Kylian Mbappe” and the “next Jude Bellingham”.

The Ineos founder – who has taken control of football operations at Old Trafford as part of his £1.03 billion deal for a 27.7 per cent stake in the club – wants a departure from the transfer approach of the past decade that has often seen United splash large fees on established names with little success.

United, for example, signed a 30-year-old Casemiro for £70 million in August 2022 and are now already open to selling the Brazil midfielder this summer.

But Ratcliffe favours the club taking a longer-term view on signings as he opened up on his transfer plans on the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast.

Asked about the idea of signing a player such as Mbappe, Ratcliffe said: “He’s a great footballer but that’s not where our focus is. The solution isn’t spending a lot of money on a couple of great players. They have done that if you look at the last 10 years, they have spent a lot of money.

“The first thing we need to do is get the right people in the right boxes who are managing and organising the club and make sure we get recruitment right.

“That’s such a vital part of running a football club, getting that right. I would rather find the next Mbappe, rather than spend a fortune to buy success. It’s not that clever to go and sign Mbappe, anyone could figure that one out.

“What’s more challenging is to find the next Mbappe, the next Bellingham, the next Roy Keane.”

United have appointed Omar Berrada as their new chief executive, with the former Manchester City chief operating officer due to start at Old Trafford in the summer after a period of gardening leave as Ratcliffe overhauls the football department.

They are also in discussions with Newcastle over a compensation package for Dan Ashworth, whom Ratcliffe expects to appoint as United’s new sporting director.

United also want to bring in a technical director with a focus on recruitment, with Southampton’s sporting director Jason Wilcox a target, and a performance director as Sir Dave Brailsford, Ineos’s director of sport, continues his audit of the club.

United’s summer budget is expected to be squeezed by the financial constraints presented by the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules as well as Uefa’s financial sustainability regulations.

Ratcliffe has appointed Interpath Advisory, a corporate restructuring firm, to oversee a major cost-cutting drive that he hopes will free up money to invest in the first-team squad and ensure the club do not flout PSR.

A striker and a centre-half are thought to be among the priorities this summer but Ratcliffe intimated that United were also missing a creative midfielder.

Asked which former United great he would have in the current team given the choice, the Oldham-born billionaire said: “Paul Scholes I’d bring in. That’s the player that is most missing. They are not Roy Keane but they do have Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo, they are more defensive. They don’t have a Scholes, an [Andres] Iniesta.”

Ratcliffe has also disclosed that a new United stadium could have a capacity as large as 100,000. He has commissioned a special taskforce chaired by Lord Coe to examine the feasibility of building a new ground to replace United’s Old Trafford home amid his desire to create a “Wembley of the North”.

“We can refurbish the ground and have a fantastic stadium, that will take about a billion [pounds] to do that, and the club can shoulder that burden,” he said. “But we have got this opportunity to build a new ground if we choose to. We’ve got enough space to build a completely new ground.

“If we build a completely new ground, it would be state of the art, world class, [have a capacity of] 90,000 or even 100,000. I think that then provides a platform for some of the big competitions in the north of England. Why shouldn’t England play in the North? Why is the FA Cup final always in the South?

“Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool have won 10 Champions Leagues. London [clubs] have won two Champions Leagues. There are occasions where Liverpool are providing six or seven players to the England team. Football is just as important to the north as the south – and arguably more so.”

Ratcliffe also disclosed his admiration for the spirit and drive Jurgen Klopp - who is due to step down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season - has created at the Anfield club.

“I didn’t see the match between Liverpool and Man City [1-1 draw] but one of the things I read was that only three or four of the Liverpool players would get in the City team, but Klopp has this ability to drive his players to a frenzy where they have total commitment on the pitch,” he said. “That’s one of the things a good coach can do.”

Ratcliffe also said City were the benchmark for United and claimed their performance in last season’s 4-0 Champions League semi-final, second-leg win over Real Madrid was the best he had seen from a football team.

“Unquestionably City are on the top of the pile and Liverpool are up there as well but City are probably No 1” he said.

“United are two miles from City and Liverpool are 20 miles, two of the greatest clubs in Europe are on the doorstep. It’s not United today, that’s for sure, but if you look at City all the way through, Ferran [Soriano, City chief executive], Txiki [Begiristain, director of football], Pep [Guardiola], Omar, but now Omar has come to us.

“That game they played last season in the semi against Real Madrid where they won 4-1 [4-0], I think the first half of that game is the best football I’ve ever seen.”