Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has urged patience with manager Ruben Amorim, insisting the Portuguese coach should be given at least three years to demonstrate his quality.
Amorim, who took charge at Old Trafford last November after leaving Sporting Lisbon, has endured a difficult first year in charge. United recorded their worst league finish in more than half a century last season — ending 15th, their lowest position since the 1973–74 relegation campaign.
Despite a summer spending spree exceeding £200 million, United’s struggles have continued. The team has already suffered three league defeats and exited the EFL Cup after a shock loss to League Two side Grimsby Town.
Pre-match speculation ahead of United’s recent 2-0 win over Sunderland suggested Amorim’s job was under threat, but Ratcliffe dismissed such rumours. Speaking on The Business podcast by The Times, he reaffirmed his support for the 40-year-old, describing him as a “good guy” who needs time to build a foundation.
“He hasn’t had the best of seasons,” Ratcliffe admitted. “Ruben needs to demonstrate he’s a great coach over three years — that’s where I would be.”
Amorim has faced widespread criticism for his tactical rigidity, particularly his continued use of a 3-4-2-1 formation, but Ratcliffe dismissed external pressure as shortsighted.
“The press sometimes I don’t understand,” he said. “They want overnight success. They think it’s a light switch — you flick it and everything’s fine. You can’t run a club like Manchester United on knee-jerk reactions to some journalist going off every week.”
Ratcliffe, who owns just under 30% of United but oversees all football operations, also defended the club’s majority owners, the Glazer family. Despite long-standing fan criticism of their leveraged takeover in 2005, Ratcliffe described them as “passionate” about the club.
When asked whether the Glazers might pressure him to dismiss Amorim, Ratcliffe was unequivocal:
“That’s not going to happen.”
Beyond the footballing challenges, Ratcliffe discussed his ongoing efforts to streamline Manchester United’s operations. The club recently announced that annual losses had fallen from £113.2 million to £33 million for the year ending June 2025, following two rounds of redundancies that saw more than 400 staff — including long-serving employees — leave the organization.
The restructuring, which included the removal of certain employee perks such as free lunches, has drawn criticism. Ratcliffe defended the cost-cutting measures, saying they were necessary to make United more efficient.
“The costs were just too high,” he explained. “There are some fantastic people at Manchester United, but there was also mediocrity, and it had become bloated. I got a lot of flak for the free lunches, but no one’s ever given me a free lunch.”
Ratcliffe argued that profitability and performance are closely linked, asserting that long-term financial stability is key to sustained on-field success.
“There are two halves to a football club — the business side and the sporting side,” he said. “The strongest correlation between results and any other factor is profitability. The more cash you have, the better the squad you can build.”
United’s latest financial results reflect record revenues and the club’s second-highest profit in history. Ratcliffe believes this trajectory will continue.
“Manchester United will become the most profitable football club in the world, in my view,” he concluded. “From that, I hope, will come long-term, sustainable, top-level football.”
