Sir Jim Ratcliffe's six bombshell revelations in Man United interview as Real Madrid claim made

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has revealed his intentions for the club in a rare interview.

The INEOS founder detailed his plans in addition to outlining several obstacles that are present moving forward. In a discussion with Bloomberg, the Red Devils chief discussed the Premier League, Nice, transfers and his ambitions for the Old Trafford club.

Ratcliffe completed his purchase of 27.7 per cent of United in February and has taken an active role since. The British billionaire has made a whole host of changes on and off the pitch, with the likes of Sir Dave Brailsford proving influential while the club's hierarchy is overhauled.

READ MORE: Manchester United legend in talks over surprise return to English football

READ MORE: 'Let me tell you' - Gary Lineker criticises Harry Kane's England performance after Denmark draw

With that said, MEN Sport has taken a look at some of the biggest points to be taken away from Ratcliffe's time in front of the camera.

Real Madrid ambitions

It will come as little surprise that Ratcliffe will want to take Manchester United to the very top. Outlining Real Madrid's approach is not necessarily customary when discussing the shrewdest operators, even with the unmatched success the La Liga side have managed in Europe.

"There's room for improvement everywhere we look at Manchester United, and we will improve everything," explained Ratcliffe. "We want to be competing for the Premiership every year and the Champions League every year. That's where we need to be, where Real Madrid is today, but it'll take time.

"I think Real Madrid have done a fabulous job. There's an interesting statistic. If you look at the 10 seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill left. Manchester United's net spend on players is £1.1billion. United have not been mean with the chequebook. Real Madrid's over the same time is £200m, which is surprising when you hear that, because today they have a squad where six or seven players are valued at more than 100m euros and Manchester United don't have any.

"And Real Madrid have probably built the finest football stadium in the world using the same chequebook."

Transfer blow

Ratcliffe also revealed that United have already been dealt their first transfer blow of the summer. A UEFA ruling has already ensured that a player from Nice, believed to be Jean-Clair Todibo, cannot be permitted to make the move to United.

Transfers cannot be made by clubs competing in the same competitions, in this instance the Europa League, when they share owners.

"We've got a player in Nice who was interested in Manchester United and he probably has the capability," Ratcliffe said. "They've said [UEFA] we can sell him to another Premiership club, but we can't sell to Manchester United but that's not fair on the player and I don't see what that achieves."

United's co-owner also detailed what the club's approach will be moving forward. Despite citing Real Madrid as inspiration, Ratcliffe does not expect to make a Kylian Mbappe-like signing immediately.

"You have to look at the balance sheet," he said. "I don't think the solution is to buy a Mbappe. We're more grassroots.

"One player isn't going to solve the problem at Manchester United. We need to build a balanced squad and we need to make progress with the squad. Ultimately maybe you top, top it off with one or two players like Mbappe, it's not the solution today."

For those hoping for a swift recovery after United's worst-ever Premier League finish, they may need to be patient. Ratcliffe doesn't believe that a single transfer window will provide the solution, as sales and purchases must align with Premier League and UEFA financial regulations.

The 71-year-old also voiced some frustration over the delay in establishing his new hierarchy. United are still negotiating with Newcastle for Dan Ashworth, while Omar Berrada's move from rivals Man City was postponed as the CEO was put on gardening leave.

Only technical director Jason Wilcox has been able to start his work promptly. "I'm not confident we'll solve all of the problems in the first transfer window, no," Ratcliffe admitted. "It will take time. Omar, Dan, Jason are key pillars of the sports side, we've only got Jason in place.

"We're sort of a bit handicapped in that sense, so I think we'll do a fairly good job. It will take two or three summer windows to get to a better place".

Premier League warning

Ratcliffe emphasised his opposition to the idea of a government-imposed regulator and voiced significant worries about the present state of the Premier League, insisting that he would hate to see the prestigious division lose its status as the world's top league. He singled out the potential constraints that 'anchoring' could inflict on clubs in light of recent amendments to profitability and sustainability guidelines.

"If you start interfering too much, bringing too much regulation in, then you finish up with the Manchester City issue, you finish up with the Everton issue, you finish up with the Nottingham Forest issue on and on and on," the INEOS chief continued.

"If you're not careful the Premier League is going to finish up spending more time in court than it is thinking about what's good for the league. We have got the best league in the world, don't ruin that league for heaven's sake.

"[Anchoring] would inhibit the top clubs in the Premier League. And the last thing you want is for the top clubs in the Premier League not to be able to compete with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, PSG that's absurd. And if it does, it then ceases to be the finest league in the world."

Erik ten Hag's current situation

When can an endorsement not be considered a vote of confidence? Possibly when there have been talks around finding a successor that haven't yet solidified into anything tangible.

Erik ten Hag might be in line for a new contract offer despite his role being seemingly downplayed by owner Ratcliffe's recent comments, which didn't exactly sing praises of the Dutchman's impact at United.

"The coach isn't the central issue at Manchester United," Ratcliffe declared, suggesting that Ten Hag is not seen as the problem at the club. "It's a sports club. It needs to be competitive, it needs a degree of intensity, but with a supportive side to it because you are dealing with players who are relatively young. It hasn't had that type of environment historically."

Relationship between Man United and Nice

The dynamic between Nice and United has become more complex with both clubs qualifying for the Europa League. To comply with UEFA regulations, Nice has been placed under a trust.

Despite these complications, there's no plan to sell the French club. Ratcliffe is looking to leverage his portfolio in an era where owning multiple clubs is becoming increasingly common among football's elite.

The power structure may be predictable, but it's been explicitly stated in this case. "It's not our intention to sell Nice," Ratcliffe explained.

"I like the concept of the multi club and Nice will be complementary for Manchester United. You can blood younger players in Nice because Manchester United sit at a higher level.

"It's tough to bring an 18 or 19 year old, occasionally you get a Kobbie Mainoo, but it's difficult to blood those players but at Nice you could do that. That would benefit Nice." Because of Brexit, it is difficult now to contract younger, generational talents in Europe but Nice could do that.

"If there's a fantastic 15-year-old in France we can sign him for Nice and use Nice as a conduit to Manchester United later on."