Football Daily - What Can Manchester United Fans Expect From Jim Ratcliffe?

Episode Date: February 21, 2024

A new era begins for Man Utd but what can fans expect? Sir Jim Ratcliffe sits down with BBC sports editor Dan Roan after completing his deal to buy a 27.7 per cent stake in Manchester United. He says it's a boyhood dream to be involved in United and that restoring them to the pinnacle of English and European football is the greatest challenge. Sir Jim also reveals his plans for a new stadium.Producer: Jonathan McKeith.This is also available as a Sports desk special on BBC Sounds.

Made by BBC Sports for BBC Sounds, this is The Sports Desk. Hello and welcome to a special edition of The Sports Desk. I'm Sarah Malkerns. This week we're bringing you an exclusive interview with the new co-owner of Manchester United, Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Yes, after a pretty lengthy process, Ratcliffe's 27.7% stake in the club is finally complete. So what does it mean for the club, the team, the stadium and indeed the fans who no doubt will have many questions? Well, the BBC Sports Editor Dan Rowan has been putting all the questions to Sir Jim today in his only broadcast interview

and we can talk to Dan now. So Dan, how did this all come about and how did you find Sir Jim Ratcliffe today? Well, I mean, it's been a long time to try and secure an interview with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Sarah, as you'd expect. I mean, this saga began well over a year ago now, didn't it, when he first announced that he was trying to buy Manchester United after the Glazer family, who have owned it, of course, since 2005, announced at the back end of 2022 that they were looking to sell the club or at least to bring in some new investment as part of a strategic review designed to raise more money,

in particular to invest in the stadium, Old Trafford, but in the team as well. And ever since then, obviously, we've been trying to secure some time with him. I think during the course of that long-running takeover saga that went on for more than a year with various twists and turns, it was never going to happen then. I think all parties were honouring and respecting the rules of the bidding process, which forbids any public comment. I've interviewed Sir Jim on a number of occasions. I think the first time was seven years ago now up in Yorkshire when he took over the Team Sky cycling outfit. And since then, of course, there's been a number of other sporting pursuits from the the two-hour marathon challenge um the investment in sailing um in f1 and obviously he's bought

into football clubs as well and so on a handful of occasions i've had the chance to speak to him but you know it's um i think it's one of those situations where you've got to hope that once the deal is completed, if it's completed, then you have that opportunity. And obviously, since the fact that he had this deal in place was announced just before Christmas, and then this week that it was formally completed, it became a more realistic prospect. But yeah, really obviously pleased to land it. And it was fascinating to spend some time with him at such a a big moment because you get the impression that this this means a great deal to him um because he's obviously he said hasn't he that he's a lifelong Manchester United fan

started supporting them as a boy and to now be co-owner of the club you know he's clearly uh significant hugely significant to him personally and indeed And indeed for the club as well, it marks the start of a new era. But I started the interview here in the Oss headquarters in central London by asking him to sum up what this moment meant to him personally. Well, I mean, I suppose it's a very proud moment.

And, you know, I'm sort of very honoured to be in this position where I can influence theol o Manchester United. Nid yw'n rhywbeth y byddwn i wedi'i ystyried yn fy mhrofiadau ifanc, ond dyma ni. I'r rhai sydd ddim yn gwybod, cyflwyno sut y cyrraeddwyd i ddod i'r clwb. Wel, mae'n rhaid i chi fynd yn ôl, fel mae'r rhan fwyaf o bobl yn ei wneud, i'ch prifysgol. Pan fyddwch chi'n 6 neu 7 neu 8, nid ydych chi'n gallu cofio pan ddigwyddodd hynny. people do really to your childhood you know when you're six or seven or eight you can't really remember when it happened but I was at primary school in Manchester in Fellsworth in North Manchester between Manchester and Oldham

and you know in my class of six and seven year olds you know half were pale blue and half were red but my family my family was a red family you know my mother and father had always been Manchester United fans and my only regret today is they're not here today really unfortunately to sort of enjoy Felly, yn fy nheulu, roedd fy mab a'r pap yn ffans United. Ac mae fy anodd ar hyn o bryd nad ydyn nhw yma heddiw, yn anffodus, i fwynhau'r cyfnod. Ond fe wnes i'n ffordd yn union, a dwi wedi dod i fod yn fwyafrwydd yn Manchester United oedden nhw. Ac mae hynny wedi bod yn fy ffans dros fy bywyd cyfan, fel mae'n bodoli gyda phwbl. Mae pobl yn debyg i fywyd, dydyn nhw ddim yn newid clwb yn y cyfnod eu bywydau. Felly mae'n amlwg wedi bod yn fawr i chi, United?

Mae'n fawr, yn unigol. People don't change clubs in the middle of their life. So it's always meant a great deal to you, United? Enormous, yeah. Absolutely, yeah. Yeah, it's an important element of your life, isn't it? And hugely important to all those people in Manchester who support Manchester United. So Monday morning is a really important time to talk about what happened at the weekend. It's either a good start to the week or a bad start to the week. And if you can identify favourite moments, favourite player? o'r wythnos neu'n dechrau yn ddew. A os gallwch chi ddod o hyd i ffeyrwyr, ffeyrwyr chwarae? Ffeyrwyr chwarae, dwi'n meddwl, heb gwestiwn, fyddai'r gyflawni yn Barcelona, chi'n gwybod, yn ynghyd â Bayern Munich, lle nid oeddem yn chwarae yn dda iawn am 90 munud. Nid oeddem yn cael Paul Scholes a Roy Keane,

os ydych chi'n cofio. Roeddet ti yno, oeddwch chi? Roeddwn i yno, ie, gyda fy mab, syddai'n tua 11 yn y pryd, ond y 3 munudau diwethaf, f un adeg anodd. Ac wrth gwrs, fe wnaeth hollbwysau ddiweddaru gyda llawer o ddynion wedi'u gwblhau fy mab 11 oed. Ond na, na, roedd hynny'n adeg anodd iawn, rhywbeth sy'n cael ei ddysgu yn eich meddwl. Ac mae'r gwelys yn ymwneud â hynny, nid yw' chwaraeon, ac mae'n eich amgylch. Ac mae'n eich hwylio'r cyfnodion hyfryd. Y cyfnodion yn amser. Ac mae'r chwaraeon yn amlwg.

I mi, yn fy nhyffyrdd, byddai George Best a Bobby Charlton yn ddwy o'r iconion yn y blynyddoedd hynny. Ond Eric Cantonaer oedd y character sy'n gwneud the character that transformed United for Alex Ferguson. He was the catalyst. They'd had 25 fairly barren years. I mean, we'd just had 10 or 11, but they'd had 25 years, of course, at that point in time, since Matt Busby had moved on. And, of course, Eric came in, and that's when it all started to change for Alex Ferguson and and it didn't stop for 25 years after that. So given all of

that actually having this stake in the club now being Coen, how does it feel like a dream come true almost? Yeah you have to I mean you you know you do have to pinch yourself really because it is a sort of a boyhood dream but they never come true normally do they? This is the exception to the rule and it's a nice one for me. So articulate for us Sir Jim, how determined are you to restore this club to its former glories? Well that's the only reason I'm, it's the only reason I got involved in Manchester United. I'm not, it's not a, It's not a financial consequence for me because

I make enough money in my core business of chemicals and oil and gas. The only reason I got involved in Manchester United is because I want to see Manchester United restored to where it should be in football. It's the biggest club in the world, maybe I'm slightly biased but I think it's the biggest club, it's the most well-known club in the world. It has the greatest history in the world and it should be playing the greatest football in the world, which it has been from time to time. So it should always be challenging for the premiership and it should always be

challenging for the Champions League. It's been a decade since it last won the Premier League, so how would you describe the scale of the challenge facing you then? Well, it's clearly had a difficult 11 years since Sir Alex and David Gill retired. So this won't be a light switch, it's not switching a light switch, it's not just about a new coach or, you know, it's not a simple fix or a short-term fix. We have to, you know, we have to walk to the right solution, not run to the wrong solutions. We've got a short-term issue, which is that we really, really want to get into the Champions League next year

because it's quite important for FFP. But the real challenge is, you know, it's a two to three season challenge yw'r her. Mae'n her ddwy i dri oed oed yn ystod y cyfnod i gael y sefydliad a'r amgylchedd yn iawn i gyflawni'r canlyniadau cywir. Mae ein ffocws yn gwbl yn y ffordd, yn gweithio ar y ffordd, yn gweithio â'r gweddau ffocwl. Ond mae hynny'n cynnwys… Yr un peth yw'r sefydliad. Mae'r sefydliad, y dylunio'r sefydliad, y stwyth y se design of the organisation, the structure of the organisation needs to be correct. We, you know, if you take the example at the moment, we've got the coach reporting to chief executive. That doesn't really make any sense. So you need the right design of organisation. Then you need to populate that organisation with people who are best in class.

You know, they are the top people at that particular task in the world. I mean, United is a huge club. It's got a great history. It's going to be a very exciting challenge to take it from where it has been to where it's going. So it will attract the best people in the world, in my view. But we have to find the best people in the world, and we have to ensure that they have the right character and personality where they can work in a in a positively in a structure not not we don't want

disruptors we don't like bullies we don't like egos we need people who are really good at the job they've got the right type of personality and then we need to create the right environment for elite sportsmen to to be success because all all you're doing here is trying to drive performance on the pitch so you am ysbortwyr elit i fod yn llwyddiannus. Oherwydd yr hyn rydych chi'n ei wneud yma yw ceisio arwain perfformiad ar y pitch. Felly mae angen amgylchedd. Mae'n amlwg ysbort elit, mae'n bwysig, mae angen bod yn gyfartalol. Bydd yn gweithio'n eithaf pethol o'r amser. Ond yn unig mae angen bod yn ffrindol, mae angen bod ychydig o fawr, mae angen bod yn hyderus. Mae angen bod yn gallu rhoi'ch ddechrau o amser i'r chwaraeon time but equally it needs to be friendly there needs to be a bit of warmth it needs to be supportive you need to be able to put your arms around the players

from time to time rather than beating them in a stick all the time so you need to create that right so it's a combination of the organization the right people create the right environment and then my belief and in a way you have to believe otherwise you shouldn't be sitting where I am at the moment is the results will fall out of the bottom. And, you know, if you look at United today, it doesn't tick all of those boxes. You say you don't want to be too disruptive. No.

You said it could get intense. So you're referring to, for example, Newcastle United aren't too happy with you probably right now because of the fact that Dan Ashworth, you want him. Yeah. Why is it so important to get him and how much are you willing to spend to achieve that? Dan is a 10 out of 10 sporting director. He's one of the best sporting directors around. And he would be very good for Manchester United in my view and you know it's understandable that somebody like Dan who is very very good at his job would see the Manchester United job as a you

know very interesting challenge at this stage of his career but I mean I would say with with Newcastle Newcastle have been tremendously successful since the change in ownership, really. They've done a really, really good job with the club. And one can understand them being, you know, upset or disappointed with the Dan Ashworth situation. But, you know, ultimately, you know, you can't really criticise Dan sefyllfa. Ond yn y pen draw, dydw i ddim yn gallu cyd-ddychrych Dan am edrych ar y

swydd mwyaf gyffredinol mewn gwely fel Cyfarwyddwr Gwyddo, yn enwedig gyda'r her yw Manchester United, sy'n cael ei ddod o ble mae wedi bod yn y llynedd diwethaf, sydd wedi bod yn anodd, i ble byddwn ni am ei ddod, sy'n gweithio ar y trwy o gwely. A byddwch chi'n gallu treulio miliynau o arian, 15, 20 miliwn o arian yn cael ei siarad amdano i gael hi yn gyflymach? Nid, rwy'n credu bod yna niferau anoddol, ac byddwn i'n gadael i ddim i ddod i mewn i hynny. Ond beth sy'n debyg yn amlwg yw i Dan Ashworth bod yn bod yn gwneud dim am 18 mis, nid yw hynny'n gyflawni unrhyw un. Dwi ddim yn credu bod hynny'n gwneud gwahaniaeth.

Mae gennych chi heriau gwych a'r heriau sy'n gysylltiedig â'r heriau mewn gwahanol ffyrdd, a yw'r ffyrdd ar gael, y Cwp Cymru neu'r heriau ddwy awr ar gael yn ystod y rhan, wrth gwrs. Beth fyddwch chi'n rhoi'r her hwn, y her o adeiladu United i ble roedd e, i ble roedd e? Pa mor anodd o swydd ydych chi'n ei wynebu? Mae'n yr un mwyaf. Dwi'n credu ei fod yn her anhygoel. Mae pawb yn ceisio gwneud yr un peth. Mae pawb yn y Lleolfa Cymru a'r gyd-eang yn hoffi gynnal y Lleolfa Gwledydd ac mae'n amlwg nad yw'n ddigon hawdd. Mae llawer o gynhwysion a phethau. Mae United yn glwb mawr iawn. Mae'r ysbrydolaeth ychwanegol yn y golygfeydd o'r Manchester United. Dyma'r her mwyaf.

Yr un arall sy'n hynod o'r amser yw'r Cwp Cymru. Rydym wedi ceisio i gynnal y Cwp Cymru am 180 mlynedd. Mae'r Rhywogaeth yn rheoli'r ffordd. Efallai y byddwn yn rheoli'r ffordd, ond nid ydym yn dda iawn yn y Cwp Cymru. Mae hynny'n ddiweddar y flwyddyn. Yn ddiweddar, mae hynny'n ddiweddar. the America's Cup. That's for later this year. That's in September. Indeed. I must just ask, you said last night once the deal

had formally been completed that you would accelerate plans now. What did you mean by that? What plans and how are you going to accelerate them? I'm not sure

we've been slightly misquoted there but I think there clearly has been a, you can see some changes in the club since we signed on Christmas Eve because you can see

there's been a change on you know The performance on the field has changed the attitude on the field has changed a bit I think that the team has been more. He's played more as a team more more cohesive They've been very very committed. They played to the 90th minute all those All those touch things that I've now forgotten the question I'm moving on it seems to me you're asking for patience from the fans as you said. It's not a quick fix. Yeah, it's not. I mean, you know, we come back to, you know, walk to the right solution

not run to the wrong solution. And it's, you know, I mean, there is a classic point of view in football that it takes six or seven windows you know to really get the squad to exactly where you where you want it to get it to I mean I have to say I think the squad has played really good football over the last over the last couple of months but it's not at the level we want to get to to be clear I mean it's better than we've seen in the lesson it's been quite entertaining football they played you know the youngsters have been you know they've been very committed play some great score some great goals but you know y gwyddon nhw'n ddiddordeb. Mae'r ifanc wedi bod yn ddiddordeb iawn, yn chwarae golau gwych. Ond yn y pen draw, nid yw'r lefel yr hoffwn ni ei gael i'r Manchester United

i'w gael. Mae hynny'n cymryd amser. Nid yw'n ymwneud yn unig â'r squad o chwarae, ond y cyfan sy'n ei gynnwys. Mae'r cyfan yn y gwaith. Mae 1,000 o bobl yn y gwaith. Rhaid i'r gwaith gweithio'n dda iawn. machine. There's a thousand people in that machine. And we need to get that machine working really well. You're impressed by some of the players. What do you make of the coach, Eric Ten Haag? Well I don't think it's appropriate for me to talk about individuals in that organisation. I would say, what I would say in respect to the coach is that if you look at this last eleven years, you know Manchester United has had quite a few coaches and some of those coaches are very capable and they've been very successful

But nobody's been successful in that Manchester United environment for the last 11 years So that would say to me that there's something wrong with the environment and who's to blame for that Well, I don't I don't it's not it's not it's not constructive for me to blame anybody. It's just a fact of life It hasn't been. So my focus is obviously on the future. How do I change that environment so you get the very best? So we can get the very best out of the coach, and the coach can get the very, very best out of the squad.

That's my focus. There's no point in me looking back at blaming people. It wasn't your average deal, this. You've done many deals over the years. It took a long time. How does it compare to others that you've conducted, and were there times when you feared it wouldn't happen? There were many times I feared it wouldn't happen because it was a complicated transaction. It was a transaction which required a lot of patience.

And it was also a transaction where you had to step into the shoes of the sellers and understand the motivations and the situation the sellers were in. And I think at the beginning, that was a bit more difficult, but further into the transaction, we did get to that place. And that helped. Also, it was a difficult transaction. It took a lot of time. There was quite a lot of adversity.

There's quite a lot of issues related to it being an American public company and non-executive directors and hedge funds and all that type of stuff that we had to deal with. So there was an element of what you might describe as adversity in the transaction. But what that does do is mean that you get to know your partner quite well because you have to deal with adversity. Because to be fair to the Glazer family, they did want to sell to us. There were lots of obstacles in the way,

and we had to find our way through obstacles. And so we did get to know each other, and that helped form a bond and relationship between ourselves and the Glazer family. And how would you describe them, and how they've run Manchester United up until this point? I mean, in terms of... I only know Joel and Avram,

and they are, despite what you might read in the press, they are really nice people, they're very courteous, and they're very, you know, the avid supporters of Manchester United, believe it or not. They really are. So they're nice people, they're nice partners to have in this project going forward with Manchester United, believe it or not. They really are. So they're nice people. They're nice partners to have in this project going forward with Manchester United. I think, I don't really want to comment on the...

I mean, they obviously were very successful, you know, before Sir Alex and David Gill retired. So they did win the premiership five times in seven years and they won the Champions League. But they've never filled the gap after Sir Alex and then David Gill and you know all right there is stadium issues but they have been generous with a checkbook in the transfer market because you know United's probably got the most expensive

squad in the world so they've have been but you know for whatever reason it hasn't worked on the field but I think there is some quite complicated reasons for them but you'll have heard fans many fans, dismayed about the level of debt that the club has been saddled with, the on-field decline and indeed in terms of the infrastructure and they hold the Glazers understandably responsible for that so do you understand those, that anger? Yeah, no I understand the frustrations and the anger but where I sit today is looking forward not looking Dwi'n deall y ffrustrwyd a'r angoedd, ond lle rydw i'n sefyll heddiw yw edrych ymlaen, nid edrych yn ôl. Felly, ydw i am ddweud i'r ffans, rhoi ychydig o amser i ni, ceisio bod yn parhau, a byddwn yn ceisio

adeiladu Manchester United yn ôl i ble mae'n ddweud y ddylai, sy'n un o'r clwbau elit iawn yng Nghymru. Roeddwn i'n mynd i ofyn i chi am eich neges i'r ffans, oherwydd mae hyn yn cyd-draffu gwirioneddol I was going to ask you about your message to the fans because this is a power sharing relationship that you have. You have almost 28% of the club now and that will increase this year. But there will be worries from fans that the Glazers remain in ultimate overall control and the nature of this co-ownership. What reassurances can you give them that it will in practice work? The key to it working is the relationship that we will have with Joel and Avram, which is in my view a very good relationship and a very trusting relationship.

And I can't give people assurances or guarantees about the future, but my personal view is that there's a good level of trust and it will work. And you will, to be clear, have the final say on football business, football operations. You can't be blocked, stymied, frustrated by the glazes. There's bound to be times, Sir so Jim when there's a disagreement going forward How will it work? There always is in a relationship? But then it comes back to the relationship and the trust in the room

I mean, I've no problem with having disagreements with people but you know ultimately you need to reach it But you know they do have a I mean, I will listen to their views They do have some views which I mean they've done very well on the commercial side of the club for instance So they're probably better at the commercial side of the club than we are frankly. But it'll just come down to relationship and we have a good relationship with them. One of the big decisions you'll have to make early on is about the stadium. What's your latest thinking about Old Trafford and its future and the state that it's in? Well firstly I think if you take the view that United is the greatest or one of the

great clubs in the world, then it should have a stadium that's befitting of that. And it probably isn't there today because, you know, the stadium, you know, it's a bit tired, frankly, and it's in need of, you know, it's in need of refurbishment. And you know, I think there are two main issues in this club. It's in need of refurbishment. I think there are two main issues in this club. One's performance on the field and the other one probably is the stadium. And there's obviously a lot of talk about that. But where we have got to so far on the stadium is there's probably, broadly speaking, there

are two routes. You can either refurbish the stadium or you can build a new stadium. And both of those would include a campus as such. So you know you'd have a new museum, a new shop and all those things for people to do when they come to a game rather than just come to the game and leave at the end of the day, at the end of the game. What's your preference? Develop the existing stadium or build an entirely new one at the moment?

Well, if we refurbish the stadium, then we'll finish up with a great stadium, 80,000, 90,000 seater. It won't be perfect because you're dealing with a stadium which is quite old. So, you know, you just have to accept that it's not a perfect world. The new stadium is probably, I think that requires a discussion with the greater community because that new stadium would serve other purposes, I think, if we were to build it. It would serve as a catalyst for the regeneration of that part of Manchester, which for me is quite a significant issue for the country because you're talking about you know Trafford Park is is where the Industrial Revolution began

it's the oldest industrial park in Europe it's one of the biggest industrial parks of Europe it's that south side of the Manchester ship canal which was built to service the Industrial Revolution that's where the coal came and the cotton came but you know if you look at that region of Manchester today it's only a mile from the center of Manchester it's quite you know it's quite tired and neglected and and parts of it are quite run down so there is a there's this you know there is a quite a big argument in my view for regenerating that whole south side of Manchester and within it that you know the nucleus of it being a new stadium which would be a

world-class state-of-the-art stadium which could take England games it could take the FA Cup final it could take the Champions League final and it could service the north of England because if you you look, there is a bias in the UK in terms of where the national stadiums have been built. They've all been built in the south. Obviously, England, Wembley's in the south. Twickenham's in the south. Wimbledon's in the south.

The concert centre, O2's in the south. Sebco built the Olympic Village in the south. There's a lot of talk about levelling up and the Northern Powerhouse. We were going to build HS2, which was going to be a big investment in the north, but of course that's been cancelled and where's all that going to be spent?

It's all going to be spent on the rail network in London. So the people in the north pay their taxes just like the people in the south, but there's a significant bias, I think, in terms of those major investments being in the south. And also, in terms of football history, if you look at where the Champions League has been won in the UK, London versus the North West. North West has won the Champions League ten times. And Liverpool has won it more times than Manchester United, 10 times.

And London has won it twice. So why shouldn't there be a venue in the north of England for England to play? Why does everybody in the north have to go down to the south for the semi-final of the FA Cup? It makes no sense. So there's a wider conversation about the new stadium developing the south side of Manchester and providing... It's about time somebody built a national stadium or a stadium which is capable of taking national games

in the north of England rather than building everything in the south. So we're sort of in the midst of thinking about that. But it sounds like your preference, Sir Jim, is for a new stadium if it can be achieved. If it can be achieved, then yeah, that would clearly be my preference. I think I would be very excited about that prospect for the north of England. I think it would be fantastic for the north of England. And what we'll do is we'll probably be able to say something next week, but what we'd like to do is put together an arm's length task force that can sort of assimilate the sort

of consequences of that and how that might work and the benefits of it in the way we did with the sort of the Olympic Village in London. And Gary Neville I understand might be part of that? Well we talked to Gary Neville because I think that would be an obvious, but we talked to a few people, Gary's one, because they're slightly arm's length. But we'll be able to talk about it next week, I think. You're going to look into this seriously, it sounds like. Yeah. The feasibility.

And how would you pay for it, Sir Jim? Because there's been suggestions that you'd want public funding from government to help. Is that fair? Is that right? I think if it was part of that regeneration project and a national stadium, then there clearly has to be a conversation with the government yeah, I think you know the The North deserves some thought about you know government investment and regeneration as well as the South So I think there should be a conversation with government But many would say given the wealth of Premier League clubs given your individual wealth. It shouldn't be any

Taxpayers that are helping to pay for such a stadium. I think if it's a national stadium and it's involved in the, you know, and it's a catalyst for the regeneration of southern Manchester, but it's not for me to opine, really. I think that's for others to opine on that topic. You've mentioned Sir Alex already in this interview, Sir Jim, but you've been sat next to him, as you have been recently, at Old Trafford watching the matches. How special was that, and will you seek his counsel going forward? Alex is a very thoughtful man and he's clearly part of the history of that club. He is the iconic coach of his generation. Why wouldn't you listen to Alex Ferguson? It would be silly

not to. I really enjoyed sitting next to him because he's very perceptive about the football. And he's also very humorous, you know, and he's a storyteller. You said earlier that this was about the challenge. Many will wonder, what is the motivation? Is it to leave a legacy? Is it to make some money? Is it a business decision? Is it about PR? You'll have heard the arguments from campaigners who say a lot of these investments are about giving INEOS a more positive image. Can you explain what lies behind it? Is it to some extent heart ruling the head? Or is there logic to...? I think it's ruled by... it is ruled by the heart not I mean it's this is not it's not it's not a financial investment for me I mean if I want to make a

financial investment I buy another chemical company or you know oil and gas or something like that really so it's very much you know it's very much a sort of taking on one of the great challenges you know in the world I mean there are Mae'r ffordd o ddod i'r cyfnod yn un o'r heriau gwych. Mae llawer o gyfranogwyr Manchester United yn y byd ac mae hyn yn effeithio ar eu bywydau. Mae'n her ddewis iawn ac mae'n her ddiddorol iawn. Ac i'r rhai sy'n dweud... Mae hynny'n un o'r pethau sy'n gwneud gwahanol y gwahanol ar y gwleidydd dynol. Rydym yn hoffi heriau.

Pam mae pobl yn clannu mewn mewn ystafell? Mae'n her a'r teimlad gwych os ydych chi'n dod i'r cyfnod. That's one of the things that sets the human species apart. You know, we like challenges. Why do people climb a mountain? You know, it's a challenge, and it's a great feeling if you get to the top. And for those who say this is a bit about the image of INEOS, it's about PR, what would you say to that? I mean, I don't think it's a bad thing for INEOS. INEOS is, you know, it's in the world of automotive and some consumer products. So it's not a bad thing. It's not a bad thing for INEOS, but that's not the reason for doing it. Will we see INEOS Old Trafford, INEOS on the shirts at the training ground? I've not really thought about it, to be honest, but that's not the reason we're here.

It's to see Manchester United winning trophies. I must ask about the multi-club ownership, because obviously you already own two football clubs and there are concerns that you might need to seek clarification for UEFA if both Nice and United get into the Champions League. Is that a concern for you? Might you need to relinquish Nice perhaps? Well we've had an early conversation with UEFA on that topic and it was more positive than I anticipated, but it's obviously an issue if you go down the multi-club route. Even the likes of UEFA are not entirely clear about the future view on multi-club ownership because there are some very good aspects to multi-club ownership.

And the beneficiary is often the smaller club rather than the bigger club so you know you wait for recognize that that they don't necessarily want to take that opportunity away from some of the smaller clubs but I mean there clearly are some significant benefits to multi-club ownership which we need to understand better it's not it's not something we've dwelt on too much because bear in mind we only signed this on Christmas Eve so we've you know we've only been here for eight weeks and we already obviously own Nice and Lausanne but we need Omar obviously the

new chief executive was in an organization that ran a very successful multi-club so we need to sit down and spend a bit more time understanding the pros and the cons and and what the issues are but I mean my inclination is a chael ychydig mwy o amser i ddeall y pros a'r cons a'r materion. Dwi'n credu bod fy nghyfforddiant yn un positif, nid yn un negidif ar y clwb. Rydych chi'n clywed Omar Barada, sy'n cael ei gynnal o Manxester City. Ydy Manxester City i chi yn y model sydd angen i chi ei ddynnu i'w hwynebu? Rwy'n credu... Pan oeddent yn chwarae Real Madrid yn eu hanfod, yn y llawr llawr, a'r ddynion wedi cymryd 4-1, roedd hynny'n y llawr llawrhaf, a chyflawniodd 4-1,

dyna'r cwbl gwych rwyf wedi'i gweld. Y cyfnod 45 munud cyntaf lle nad oedd Rhyw Madrid yn gallu cael y bwr, oedd yn y cwbl gwych rwyf wedi'i gweld. Os ydym ni'n gallu cyrraedd y pwynt hwnnw, byddai hynny'n gyflawniad gwych i'r Manchester United. Ond os ydych chi'n edrych ar Manchesis City, maen nhw'n cael y sefydliad cywir, y bobl yn y sefydliad, y sgwrs ystrychiol, y sgwrs gwych, Manchester City they have they have got the correct organisation got the right people in the organisation they've got the right constructive atmosphere they've got a great squad and they win football matches you know so you know why wouldn't you I mean if you look at the northwest of England we've got two neighbors who were both really really impressive football clubs and do you

think recruitment is key here getting that right can take you a long way essential you have to you know it's probably the single most important thing that you have to get right. A, you spend a lot of money, obviously, but B, you've got to do. And that's a combination of things. You know, there's a lot of technical analysis you need to do because there's a lot of technical data that's available today because every footballer always wears a GPS tag on his shoe. So there's a lot of analysis, but at the end of the day, you know, there's a little bit of, you know, that sort of feeling that you need to assess.

You know, the computer doesn't tell you whether you should buy a player or not. It's got some human interpretation on top of that. So good recruitment is not... It's never going to be 100% successful, but it's not straightforward. And we need to be as good as anybody else in the game at recruitment. And we probably haven't been to be as good as anybody else in the game

at recruitment and we probably haven't been I think people would say in the last 11 years. You've expressed your admiration for Manchester City but they're not without controversy of course they're facing more than 100 charges of financial rule breaches and obviously Omar Barada has been there for an awfully long time they deny any wrongdoing but have you sought any assurances from him that he had nothing to do anything untoward? Yeah, we have. Clearly we talked about that and I'm quite clear that we don't have any issues. You mentioned your other sports investments, Sir Jim. It's fair to say you've had a mixed

record when it comes to the cycling, sailing as you've said yourself, and at Nice for example. At least sport's not easy, you've discovered this yourself. So what should give United fans confidence based on those last few years that you are the man to turn the fortunes of the club around? Oh, well that's a difficult question isn't it? I mean we've been involved in sports now for about five years and you obviously learn them. I mean in Ineos we do have a mantra that we don't mind people making mistakes but try not to make the same mistake twice so i mean then we've made quite a few mistakes in football in in lasagna nice

which i would hope that we wouldn't repeat and i really wouldn't want to be where i am today if i hadn't made those mistakes in nice and lasagna but you know sport it's easy. You can, you know, with the best will in the world, you can't guarantee success. It doesn't always work that way. All you can do is you can set things up for success and be very focused on elite performance. And that's where we will be with Manchester United. I mean, if you look at our cycling team,

you know, we had two world-class cyclists in Chris Froome and Egan Bernal, and they both had life-threatening accidents. I mean, you know, and that's quite tough for them afterwards. ddau seichlist o gyflym gyntaf yn Chris Froome a Egan Bernal, ac maen nhw ganddyn nhw ddod â chyflawniadau llawr. Ac mae hynny'n eithaf anodd i'w chael ar ôl, pan fyddwch yn cymryd llwythoedd o metl yn ôl yn eich coed. Ac mae hynny'n un o'r pethau hyn sy'n digwydd yn y gwerth. Ie, mae llawer o ffactorau ar gael. Ie, yn gwirionedd. Ie, yn gwirionedd. Yn ôl at y penderfyniad, mae'n rhaid i mi ofyn i Sir Jim, pa mor hyderus ydych chi fod un diwrnod yn fwyaf yn gweithio ar gyfer y clwb? Roeddwn i'n gofyn am gyflawniad cymwys. Ie. I must ask Sir Jim, how confident are you that one day you will be the outright owner of the club?

Originally you wanted a majority ownership. You didn't get it. You had to settle for this. But is there a plan? Are you confident? Explain that future. I haven't spent any time thinking about the future of future ownership. At the moment we are where we are. We're in charge of the sports side of the club and we're focused on performance on the field. So I can't tell you where we'll be in five years or ten years' time. And it would be distracting to even think about it at the moment.

I think we've got to where we could get to. We couldn't get to anywhere else given the circumstances that we were having to deal with. And I'm delighted with where we are and the relationship with the Glazer family and the fact that I think we're going to be quite influential in the future journey for Manchester United. You mentioned FFP earlier. This summer there'll be many fans thinking we've got one of the country's richest men coming in as a co-owner, we're going to have a spending spree, there'll be a war chest being readied. May not be quite as simple as that. No, it's not as simple as that unfortunately. yn dod i mewn, mae'n gweithiwr cyd-draeth, byddwn ni'n mynd i gael sbrin aros, byddai'r cwch yn cael ei roi'n rhedeg. Efallai nad yw'n eithaf syml fel hynny.

Nid, nid yw'n eithaf syml. Ysgrifennwch beth y byddwn ni'n ei weld yn y flwyddyn, o ran cyllid y clwb. Wel, rwy'n credu'r peth cyntaf yw, mae FFP nawr yn elfen newydd mewn chwarae a mae'n rhan bwysig iawn iawn o reoli chwarae chwarae chwarae yn dda, felly mae'n rhaid i bobl ddeall FFP a'r ffyrdd y gallwch gweithio chwarae chwarae chwarae yn ystod FFP. Felly, FFP and the ways in which you can operate a football club within FFP. So it's just a new element. So it does obviously provide restrictions on what you can do because essentially FFP is there to ensure that football clubs don't overstretch themselves. And United has been very generous with a checkbook in the last two or three seasons, which will

impact what our ability is this summer, because we clearly can't breach FFP rules. So what we will do is we will assess how much we've got available before the summer. We'll know before the summer how much we're available. United in the past have typically sort of changed their view as they've gone through the summer transfer window. We won't do that. We'll know at the beginning what the amount of money we have to spend and then we'll come up with a plan to spend it well. That's how it's going to be. One way you could make some money is to sell Mason Greenwood. You'll be aware of the back story with that player, currently on loan in Spain of course. Do you have a view on

what should happen with regards to that individual? gyda'r chwaraewyr honno, sydd ar gael yn Sbaen. A oes gennych chi ddiddordeb ar beth yw'r peth y ddylai ei wneud o ran yr unigolyn? Nid oes gen i ddiddordeb. Mae'r cyfrif yn y flwyddyn yn ymwneud â'r cysylltiad o'r hyn a allwn ei gael a'r hyn a'n cael ei gael. Mae'r ddau pethau hynny'n gysylltiedig â'r FFP. Mae'r sefyllfa Mason Greenwood sydd gen i'n ymwybodol â'r peth. Ond mae'r chwaraewyr yn ymwneud â hynny. with but I mean the club's dealing with that I think simply I would say that you know we I mean there are always issues to deal with with with young players you know because you know sometimes they you know I mean all young people sort of get into trouble from time to time but so you know in those situations we we need to we need to look at the facts not the hype and you look at the facts we need

to judge fairly and we need to take into consideration what the values of the Rhaid i ni edrych ar y ffaith, nid ar y hyffordd. Rhaid i ni edrych ar y ffaith, rhaid i ni ddewis yn dda ac rhaid i ni gymryd ymwneud â'r gwerthoedd y mae'r clwb. Ac yna rydyn ni'n dod allan o hynny gyda'r penderfyniad. Ac dyna sut rydyn ni'n cymryd y materion sy'n dod â'r clwb. Felly nid yw'n dderbynol i mi ddod i'r ffwrdd fwyaf. A byddaf yn ôl yn gyflym i'r dyfodol. Rydych chi nawr yn un o'r cymorth cywilydd mwyaf ym Mhroed. Ie. Ond mae'r Glazers fel uned teulu yn dal i gael cyllid pennaethol. to the future you are now the single biggest shareholder at the club yeah but the glazers as a family unit still have ultimate control and i understand the tender document showed that after

18 months they could effectively sell the club if they wish to somebody else even though i think you'd have the first opportunity to bid that will concern some fans um does it concern you and how are you how sure are you that you're here for the long run? I'm convinced I'm here for the long run. I think those documents, I mean lawyers love to write legal documents and so we have got lots of legal documents because there were lots of lawyers involved in the transaction. In my view those documents will finish up in the bottom drawer and they won't come out of the bottom drawer and all the decisions we make about the future will Yn fy marn i, bydd y cyfnodau hynny'n diwedd yn y drws olaf, ac yn fawr yn dod allan o'r drws olaf. Ac mae'r holl benderfyniadau rydyn ni'n eu gwneud am y dyfodol yn seiliedig ar y cysylltiad rydyn ni'n ei gael gyda'r ffôn Glaeser. Ac mae'n gyffredinol. Felly byddwn i'n dweud i'r ffans, peidiwch â'i bwysleisio, nid yw'n mynd i ddigwydd.

Ac rwy'n cofio'r ydych yn dweud wrthym i, Sir Jim, yn y Madrid, blwyddyn a chwe oed, pan oeddech chi'n ceisio achub Chelsea, y dylech chi ddweud bod yna ffans Brifysgol ar gyfer clwb Brifysgol. Ie. by Chelsea that consideration should be given to the fact this was a British bid for a British club. What would you say given that to those fans who maybe originally thought you know what we quite like the look of this Qatari bidder, it looks like he wants the whole club and that will be the way to get Glazers out of this club. So Jim has come in, things to be welcomed but equally it's enabled the Glazer to continue at the club. What would be your message to them given your history with United? Well I think in a way it might have been the easy solution for the Glazer family just to sell outright to the Qataris. But to be fair to the Glazers i gael ei gael i me, Strop, Ineos.

Roeddent yn meddwl y byddai'r United yn gweithio o hynny yn fwy na'r cwpwch mawr. Nid yw'r cwpwch mawr yn ymwneud â'r cwpwch mawr. Dyna'r ystyriaeth. Ac rwy'n cytuno â nhw. Sir Alex Ferguson famously said that his principal objective when in charge of United was to knock Liverpool at the time the pre-eminent side off their perch as he put it. Times have moved on you've now got Manchester City aiming for a fourth consecutive title. How would you encapsulate, articulate what you want to achieve at United? Is it to knock City off their perch because you've got other clubs, Arsenal, Liverpool, there's competition everywhere it seems. I'm in exactly the same page as Alex Ferguson yn y United yw cael y City yn eu llaw, oherwydd mae gennych chi clwbau eraill, fel Arsenal, Liverpool, mae'r cyffrediniaeth yno i bawb.

Rwy'n ymlaen yn yr un page fel Alex Ferguson, rwy'n hoffi cael nhw i gyd yn eu llaw. Roedd Alex yn un o'r rhai sy'n bwysig iawn, yn unigol, ac roedd e'n bwysig i gynnal, ac dyna'r unig rheswm gyda'r United. Rydyn ni'n ffrindiau o ran ein bod ni i gyd yn y Cymru, ond maen nhw'n yr enwog. Maen nhw'n arfer yn ein rhai mwyaf o'n rhywfyr a'n cyfranogwyr yn y DU, acodau, ond maen nhw'n enwog. Maen nhw'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o'n rhai o That's why I say it's not a light, so it's not going to change tomorrow. People need, unfortunately, to give us a little bit of time to get back to where we should be. What, next season? No, it won't be next season. It'll be two to three seasons. I think that would be silly to say that by next season we'll be at the same level as Manchester City. I mean, it took Pep a few years to get to where he got to in Manchester City.

He's not been there two seasons. So it takes time and a bit of patience. And we need to walk to the right solutions, not run to the wrong solutions. So just spending money lavishly in the summer is not the answer. It's a lot more complicated than that. So we need to get all those details right. Really fascinating insight and some really interesting answers there, Dan, from Sir Jim Ratcliffe. And if we just pick out maybe a few to end this podcast, one of the big things that came through consistently that I was hearing was the fact that he's only there to restore the reputation, that this is a decision based on his heart. You know, this is something that is very personal to him.

And I think that will read and come across very well to the fans of Manchester United to be hearing this consistently from him, that this is very much something that he wants to do for his heart, like so many of those supporters. I think that will resonate well, as you say, Sarah. And it's definitely a similar message to the one that he tried to convey when I remember speaking to him the last time, which was, I think,

May 2022, so a year and a half ago or so now, when he tried to buy Chelsea. I remember at that point, he told me that he wasn't in this to make money. He didn't see it as a business investment of the kind that he's obviously made his vast fortune over a long period of time achieving. This was very much trying to do it for the good of that club. I think that failed, obviously, that bid, and he then turned his attentions to United once it was put up for sale. But again, it was the same message. This is about, you get the impression, it's for him about leaving a legacy. It's the excitement of the challenge,

and he clearly thinks it's right up there as a sporting challenge, as opposed to it being an opportunity to to make money now i think some will uh be skeptical of that they'll say that he probably does suspect perhaps that there is some growth as an investment in the future i mean the fact that the glazers or at least two of them we know of didn't want to sell up does suggest that they still think there is some money to be made in the future from owning that club. I think there'll be others, of course, as well, who feel that environmental campaigners look at INEOS and say, well, all these sports investments are what they call greenwashing. It's an attempt to use sport to provide some positive PR that will rub off well on a company

that's been criticised in some quarters for the impact on the environment that it's had. But he denies that. He says this is about his passion for the club and his love of a challenge. And we've seen this, haven't we, in the past with others of his sporting portfolio. So it does fit with that. But, you know, I think there'll be some fans

who really welcome those sentiments. There'll be others who need some more convincing. But ultimately, it will all boil down to what plays out in the coming weeks, months and years and whether or not he is the saviour that many United fans hope that he can be for the club. Because he doesn't shy away from the fact that it is a challenge, that there's challenges

on the pitch, that there's challenges around the stadium and the infrastructure even in terms of the relationship going forward with the Glazers who had an option to sell outright as well. So, you know, he doesn't shy away from talking about kind of the future and his different plans for it and acknowledging the situation. That's right. I mean, he said, didn't he, I think the expression was, this is not a light switch moment. You know, you have to walk rather than run and get it right.

And I think, I suspect he's had a quick look at Todd Burley's experience for example at Chelsea um with this incredible spending spree and look what look what happened it didn't work did it and they've faced a real struggle um and I think he's sort of perhaps figured that with the financial rules as they are in the Premier League and in European football it's very difficult to just spend a huge amount of money. It's not actually possible right now, I think, for Manchester United with those rules and their outlay in recent years. You have to box clever. You've got to put more emphasis on executive decision-making, especially in the field of recruitment, make sure the culture's right. But clearly, that's not a quick fix. That will take time.

The likes of Manchester City and Liverpool, it wasn't overnight in recent years. They've had to sort of build that. And I thought it was very interesting and significant that he kept referring to two or three seasons. That, I sense, is his kind of timeframe for when he would like to see real achievement. I think he'd like to see progress quickly. And there perhaps has already been some progress

in recent form. What that's got to do with Ineos or Sir Jim Ratcliffe is unclear, but there has been a bit of an upsurge in form recently, which has given them a bit more confidence and belief. And he highlighted the young players and the impact that they've had. But yes, I think he wants the fans to be patient. And I think he was keen to get that across as well. And it was interesting, Dan, as well, that he spoke a lot about the environment.

So, you know, when you were talking to him about the managers, the players, specifics, he was very keen to say that maybe one person's results or success or not is perhaps kind of alluding to the environment behind the scenes and how he wants to change that

as a whole. Absolutely. And I think he, without being disparaging to the Glazers, because I'm not sure he feels he should or can, given that he has to work with them, it was clear that he felt that that was the area

where there had been a failing. United have spent a formidable amount of money in recent seasons, as much as, if not more than any other club. And yet they haven't had the results that some of their rivals have enjoyed.

And therefore, logically, you have to look at some of the decision-making on the sort of players they've brought in, the culture around the club and the various different controversies that have often undermined performance and managers. And I think he believes that the secret to this, the key, is getting those decisions right.

The environment around the team as you say i guess again devil's advocate would say well look at your other sports investments and pursuits it hasn't been simple you've had a mixed record at nice and lausanne you the cycling team has been a challenge since he bought into it um as has the sailing experience uh you know elite sport is it's about more than just recruitment and technology and sports science important as all of those elements are but especially football a team sport like football is so dynamic it there's so many factors at play which determine performance and results whether it's injuries or officiating but obviously recruitment and decision making is a key part of that and he believes he can go an awfully long way, given United's revenue generation, given its status,

that if you can get those two elements together and unify them, then the future can be bright. Just a couple more, because I think the stadium is a big talking point, isn't it? And he spoke at length about it and the different options out there and acknowledging the need for regeneration. But it was also interesting hearing him talking about, you know, perhaps this north-south divide and bringing that into the conversation. And that's sometimes not what you get from kind of owners who walk the line, I suppose, in terms of what they will say publicly. I think he wants to emphasise this. He is a co-owner of this club in a league where a lot of the clubs are owned by private equity investors or moguls, billionaires who are not local.

And I think he wants to emphasise the fact that he is from the area. He understands the club. He's a suitable custodian for it. And I think comments like that you know play well will play well they'll resonate with people in the northwest of the country i think the comments about the stadium are really interesting he said there's neither old trafford's tired in need of refurbishment that's become clear he said there was a big argument for regenerating the whole of the area around the stadium with a new stadium at its heart as opposed to just simply a refurbished existing old Trafford that is a big deal I mean it's going to cost a phenomenal amount of money I think there'll be some controversy over how exactly that can be

raised and whether he does ask for public funding I think many will will oppose that idea given the club's wealth and his wealth his personal wealth which is estimated at around 30 billion pounds at the moment but he did say isn't it it's about time somebody built a national stadium in the club's wealth and his wealth, his personal wealth, which is estimated at around £30 billion at the moment. But he did say, isn't it, it's about time somebody built a national stadium in the north of England, you know, Wembley of the North, as it's been dubbed. And, you know, he agreed when I asked him that his preference, very clearly, was for a new stadium if he said it can be achieved. And that was very exciting. And I think what they'll do now is set up this task force. I think they've been in talks with Gary Neville and others to be part of that, to really look into the feasibility

of what would be a major infrastructure investment. And finally, Dan, I know you did ask him about, you know, the potential of becoming an outright owner and he wouldn't really be drawn on it. But do you think that's ultimately what he would like? I'm sure he would like it. And we know it was what he wanted at the start of this process. He wanted to become the majority owner.

It didn't happen, whether that was because the sale price was too high or because the Glazers just simply didn't want to and this worked better. You know, it's unclear. But I think the impression one gets having spent time with him is that he's, you know, he's satisfied for now with him is that he's you know he's satisfied for now with the fact that he is now the single biggest shareholder at the club that he says he's supported all his life and he has control of football operations the core business and you know and yet you sort of feel well if it works then that's going to enable the glaciers or

make it more likely they'll stay longer. It's a really interesting dichotomy perhaps he faces, but I suspect that he would still like to be the outright owner one day, but this was as good as it could be. And if he can bring about success,

then for now, at least, you know, you'd think that would satisfy him. But who knows about the future? Fantastic stuff. Brilliant, as always. Great insight. Thank you very much to Dan Roan,

the BBC Sports Editor. Thank you as well for listening there are plenty more editions of The Sports Desk on BBC Sounds like our recent special with Harry Kane

on his time so far at Bayern Munich but for me and the team bye bye