Man United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe confident Red Devils are heading in right direction after 'very unpopular decisions'

Manchester United's co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has said that the "difficult" decisions that have been made during his time at Old Trafford are "beginning to pay off".

Ratcliffe became a minority shareholder of Man United in February 2024, with the British billionaire overseeing sporting operations at the club.

The 73-year-old has made a number of unpopular decisions during his time at the helm, including overseeing a raft of redundancies across the club.

Head coaches Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim have also been sacked since Ratcliffe's arrival, but the INEOS founder is confident that the "difficult" decisions are "beginning to pay off".

Ratcliffe opens up on "difficult" decisions at Man Utd

“I’ve seen quite a bit of this at the football club. If you do difficult things, which we felt that we had to do at Manchester United… we felt like they were the right things to do. But you do become very unpopular for a while,” Ratcliffe told Sky News.

“Well, I’ve been very unpopular at Manchester United because we’ve made lots of changes. But for the better, in my view. And I think we’re beginning to see some evidence in the football club that that’s beginning to pay off.”

Omar Berrada (CEO) and Jason Wilcox (director of football) are both vital parts of Ratcliffe's team at Man United, with the pair key in the decision to sack Amorim.

Man United have struggled across the board since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure as head coach at the end of the 2012-13 campaign.

However, there have been signs of a potentially bright future under new head coach Michael Carrick, who has picked up 13 points from his five Premier League matches at the helm.

Man Utd are chasing a return to the Champions League

Man United are fourth in the Premier League table and in a strong position to secure a return to the Champions League for the 2026-27 campaign.

Benjamin Sesko scored a last-gasp leveller to secure a point in Tuesday's 1-1 draw with West Ham United, which stretched Man United's unbeaten run under Carrick to five matches.

The Red Devils will be back in Premier League action away to Everton on February 23 before opening March at home to Crystal Palace.

Carrick is under consideration for the job on a permanent basis, but Thomas Tuchel, Oliver Glasner and Gareth Southgate are also among those in the frame.