London (AFP)
The new co-owner of Manchester United, British Jim Ratcliffe, revealed that he will not aim to sign stars such as Jude Bellingham and Frenchman Kylian Mbappe, in his effort to revive the “Red Devils.”
The 71-year-old businessman completed the acquisition of 25 percent of United shares, for about $1.3 billion, and is investing an additional $238 million to develop the club’s infrastructure.
It is expected that the club will conclude major contracts under Ratcliffe's leadership, especially in light of the team's suffering in the second season of Dutch coach Eric Ten Hag, who is trying to save the season from the FA Cup gate, where he qualified for the semi-finals to meet Coventry City from the Championship.
The Red Devils have been missing the league title since 2013, and the team currently occupies sixth place, six points behind Tottenham, fifth, and nine points behind Aston Villa, fourth.
Billionaire Ratcliffe said in an interview with the “Cyclean Club” podcast after being asked if he would try to sign Bellingham from Spanish Real Madrid, “He is a great player. This is not where we are focusing. The solution is not to spend a lot of money on a few great players.”
“They did that. If you look at the last 10 years, they spent a lot of money on a number of great players,” he added.
Ratcliffe, who has supported United since his youth, continued, “The first thing we need to do is contract with the right people in the technical and administrative departments.”
He added, “As well as ensuring correct recruitment, this is a necessary part of football today.”
In the conversation, Ratcliffe was given the option of contracting with Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, the Paris Saint-Germain star, or the first star in the world of cycling, the Slovenian Tade Pogacar.
He answered, “I would rather sign a contract with Mbappe in the future than spend a huge sum of money to buy success.”
He added, “It is not smart to sign Mbappe. Anyone can realize that. The most challenging thing for us is looking for the future Mbappe, the future Billingham, or the future Roy Keane.”
The Parisian club's top scorer is expected to join Real Madrid at the end of the season.
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