Sir Jim Ratcliffe makes feelings clear on Erik Ten Hag's Manchester United role change

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has revealed that Erik ten Hag was "doing too much" in his management role at Manchester United before he assumed control of the club.

Ratcliffe invested £1.3billion to secure a 27.7% share in the Red Devils early in 2024, effectively taking over their football operations. Building on this, he made several vital executive appointments, notably attracting Omar Berrada from Manchester City to fill the CEO position, appointing Jason Wilcox as technical director, and bringing in Dan Ashworth, formerly of Newcastle, as United's sporting director.

Those moves were made to lighten Ten Hag's load, who, for his initial two seasons at Old Trafford, operated in tandem with then-football director John Murtough concerning recruitment. Reports surfaced in April indicating the Dutch manager's influence on player signings would diminish if he continued to be at the helm.

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After conducting interviews for potential new managers, Ratcliffe eventually chose to maintain faith in Ten Hag, awarding him a one-year contract extension. However, this affirmation came with adjustments to Ten Hag's responsibilities, a shift Ratcliffe has clarified, noting the manager's role is now more centred around footballing matters.

"Erik is a good guy and had been doing his best, but doing too much," Ratcliffe told the Times. "He was trying to sort out the squad and fix leaks in the roof at the same time."

Ratcliffe also pointed out the significant 'vacuum' at Manchester United following the exits of Sir Alex Ferguson and managing director David Gill in 2013.

"Up until that point, those two had been managing the sports side of the club and the Glazer family [the club's majority owners] had managed the commercial side very well. And then all of a sudden there's this vacuum," Ratcliffe added.

"Manchester United has the biggest fanbase of any football club in the world, probably the biggest of any sports team in the world. They say about 10 or 12 percent of the planet are either Manchester United fans or sympathisers, which is getting close to a billion people. It is a colossal enterprise.

"I mean, the results speak for themselves. In the last ten or eleven years, it should have been a contender for the Premier League and Champions League [trophies] every year and it hasn't at all.

"It is a big responsibility to return the club to where it should be. It should be performing at least in the top eight in Europe. Now if we can't do that then we won't have been successful."