Sir Jim Ratcliffe labelled the Manchester United facilities a disgrace amid a pair of emails written by the Ineos chief being leaked online.
In one email sent to United staff Ratcliffe insisted standards at the club needed to be raised, describing the level of untidiness in the office as a “disgrace” and some dressing rooms as “not much better”.
Ratcliffe made his comments after a two-day tour of Old Trafford and Carrington.
He wrote: “I had a good tour around some of the facilities. I am afraid I was struck in many places by a high degree of untidiness. In particular, the IT department, which frankly was a disgrace, and the dressing rooms of the U18 and U21 were not much better.”
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Ratcliffe, whose remarks were sent in an email to staff on Friday afternoon, then compared the standards with that of INEOS.
He said: “These standards would not come close to what we would expect at Ineos and we are a chemical company. Manchester United is an elite sporting organisation. It’s a small thing in many ways but unless an organisation has standards and discipline it will not succeed.
“I would be grateful in future if we adopt the proper standards of housekeeping everywhere. It reflects poorly on the club if we have visitors, young player parents, new players and the media and they see we don’t care enough to keep things shipshape.”
It comes after separate emails were leaked that indicated staff members would be required to pay for their own travel to and from Wembley for the showpiece event against Manchester City, something they were not required to do last year.
“In recognition of your ongoing support this season, we will organise a colleague trip to Wembley for the final on 25 May," the April email read, per The Times. "This year, the trip will be a little different. We will still provide you with a complimentary ticket to the game. However, we’ll ask you to contribute towards coach travel, and lunch will not be provided.
“While we appreciate this is a change from previous trips, you will all be aware of the need for us to spend the club’s money effectively, with a focus on performance and outcomes.
"We hope that this year’s trip balances the opportunity for you to go to Wembley to support our players while also ensuring we can invest as much as possible into the club over the coming months to achieve our goal of returning Manchester United back to the top of English, European and world football."
SPORTbible has contacted Man Utd for comment.
Topics: Manchester United, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Manchester City
Chris Byfield