Sir Jim Ratcliffe Has Already Named Signing Man Utd Need To Make Most
It could be a busy summer at United.
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Topics: Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Man Utd, Premier League, Transfers
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Man Utd, Premier League, Transfers
Sir Jim Ratcliffe named a former Manchester United midfielder when describing the type of player the club is "missing most" – and many fans are likely to agree with his comments.
Since co-owner Ratcliffe completed his £1.3 billion minority takeover of the club in February last year, United have spent big on new arrivals.
In fact, they have forked out more than £500 million on fees following the arrivals of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Manuel Ugarte, Joshua Zirkzee, Patrick Dorgu, Senne Lammens and Noussair Mazraoui.
Ratcliffe has often acknowledged that there are areas of the squad that need attention but two years on from his acquisition and United are still lacking a creative player who can dictate play from central areas.
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Back in 2024, Ratcliffe brought up Paul Scholes after being asked to name a Manchester United legend to put in the current team.
"Paul Scholes I’d bring in - that’s the player that is most missing," he said on the Cycling Club podcast. "They are not Roy Keane but they have Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo, they are more defensive. They don’t have a Scholes, an [Andres] Iniesta."
After suggesting United needed a type of player like Scholes, Ratcliffe also namedropped another former Manchester United player.
"Jaap Stam was a fabulous footballer and United missed him for years," said Ratcliffe. "He was irreplaceable for a while and even today you can see that is quite a challenging position for United."
Asked who the greatest player is to wear the United shirt, Ratcliffe replied: “Probably Cristiano Ronaldo, I’d guess. I don’t know. I remember Bobby Charlton a bit, he was obviously the legend at Manchester United.
“I once asked Alex Ferguson who was the best player he’d ever coached and that was Ronaldo. I had dinner with him the first time I met him about seven or eight years ago at the League Managers’ Association dinner."
Ratcliffe added: "George Best, I suppose, was the most naturally gifted player I’ve seen play football.”
Thoughts on Ratcliffe's suggestion? Do United need a more creative central midfielder to complement the likes of Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte? Let us know in the comments.