Scholes criticizes first year of ownership of Ineos, claims ‘everything is still negative’
Paul Scholes has expressed his displeasure with Ineos’ first year of ownership of Manchester United, claiming he “can’t think of anything positive they have done for the football club”.
Ineos chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe struck a deal with the Glazers last December that would see him buy 27.7 percent of United with a promise to revitalize the club on and off the pitch.
But there have been a number of unpopular decisions since then, including an efficiency drive that has seen a quarter of the club’s workforce – many in low-paid jobs – laid off, while ticket prices for children have skyrocketed.
Trust the process. pic.twitter.com/3Zw8AH5Bks
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 6, 2025
Things didn’t go any better on the player side either, as the decision to give former head coach Erik ten Hag a new contract in the summer backfired. The Dutchman was subsequently sacked in October and his replacement Ruben Amorim got off to a slow start at Old Trafford. United currently sit 13th in the Premier League.
“It’s getting worse and worse on the pitch”
“(Ineos Group) has been at the helm (of Manchester United) for almost a year and everything is still negative. “I can’t think of anything positive that they have done for the football club,” former United and England midfielder Scholes told The Overlap Fan Debate.
“Things are getting worse on the football field. So couldn’t they have just said they would offer cheaper tickets? Couldn’t they just give us something positive?” How can you ask Manchester United fans to pay more money for what is on offer on the football pitch?
“£66 for a ticket is ridiculous. If you think about Manchester, there are so many deprived areas and Sir Jim Ratcliffe himself comes from Failsworth, which is a deprived area. If you take a child it’s £120, if you take a family it’s £300-400 – that’s not right.
“Where do these owners get the opportunity to increase ticket prices? For value for money we are probably having the worst Premier League season ever and they have the gall to raise prices.”
Nothing positive – Scholes
Scholes added: “Nothing positive is happening with this football club. The team looks absolutely average. They do nothing for the fans.
“When we have Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is still jacking up prices compared to all these American owners, who has been a United fan since he grew up in an area of Manchester. It just shows they don’t care.”
Ratcliffe has spoken of his willingness to make difficult decisions and even claimed it could boost his popularity among some supporters.
In the summer he told Bloomberg: “At Manchester United I have to do some things that are unpopular.
“I mean, I think at the end of the day, doing difficult things can make you more popular, and you know, a certain level of unpopularity makes you more popular in a weird way.
“Because someone sees you standing up and making tough decisions instead of just blowing with the wind a little bit.”
