MANCHESTER.- Jim Ratcliffe, new co-owner of the Manchester United, expressed this Wednesday his desire to “learn” from the recent success of the Manchester City y Liverpoolthe two “enemy” clubs from the northwest of England, with whom he hopes to compete in “three years.”
“We have a lot to learn from our noisy neighbor and the other neighbor,” although “in the end, they are our enemies,” Ratcliffe declared to the press, one day after his official entry into the club’s capital.
“I would like nothing more than to make them both fall from their pedestal,” said the British billionaire, taking formulas used in the past by Alex Ferguson, emblematic coach from 1986 to 2013.
The Scot had confessed that his biggest challenge was “bringing Liverpool down from their pedestal” and then described Manchester City as his “noisy neighbors” shortly before they passed into the hands of Emirati owners in 2008.
Manchester United, the club with the most titles in the English championship, is experiencing a sporting decline since Ferguson’s retirement. On the other hand, City maintains an almost hegemonic dominance of the Premier League (five titles in the last six seasons), with Liverpool as the main alternative.
“They have been in a good position for a while and we have things to learn from them. They have sensible organizations, great people within, a good, motivated and elite work environment,” Ratcliffe described.
New hands at Manchester United:
Manchester United has just snatched Omar Berrada from City to become club president and convinced Dan Ashworth to leave Newcastle to become the future sporting director.
In football, “changes are not made overnight,” warned Ratcliffe, however, who asked fans for “patience.” “It’s not a ten-year plan,” he said. “Fans would be impatient if it were a 10-year plan. But it’s certainly a three-year plan to achieve it.”
The 71-year-old businessman, founder of the petrochemical group Ineos, owns 27.7% of the capital of Manchester United, according to information published on Tuesday by the club.
The agreement concluded with the Glazer family, majority shareholder, grants control of the sports plot to Ratcliffe.
Source: AFP
