Man Utd legend Scholes blasts INEOS, Ratcliffe in angry 225-word rant: ‘Things are getting worse’

Joe Williams
Man Utd legend Paul Scholes and Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Paul Scholes has given his opinion on Sir Jim Ratcliffe's reign.

Man Utd legend Paul Scholes insists that “everything is still negative” around Old Trafford despite Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS’ arrival last year.

The Red Devils have been in terrible form this season with their 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday one of the highlights of their campaign.

Despite the impressive result in Merseyside, Ruben Amorim’s side are currently 13th in the Premier League table with the new Portuguese head coach winning just four of his first 12 matches in charge in all competitions.

As well as things not going to plan on the pitch, Ratcliffe and INEOS have far from impressed off the pitch with supporters already turning against the new investors.

Man Utd co-owner Ratcliffe, who completed a deal to buy 27.7 per cent of the club in February last year, has sanctioned a cost-cutting programme as he’s looked to streamline the business model at Old Trafford.

The INEOS chief has been criticised for pushing through mass redundancies, hiking ticket prices, scrapping Christmas perks and taking away Sir Alex Ferguson’s global ambassador role.

And former Man Utd midfielder Scholes thinks ticket prices are “ridiculous” and the ex-England international is struggling to “think of something positive that they’ve done for the football club”.

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Scholes said on The Overlap: “They have been in charge [of Manchester United] for nearly a year now and everything is still negative. I can’t think of something positive that they’ve done for the football club.

“Things are getting worse on the football pitch so couldn’t they have just said that they’d do cheaper tickets – couldn’t they just give us something positive. How can you ask Manchester United fans to pay more money with what’s on the football pitch.

“£66 for a ticket is ridiculous. If you think of Manchester, there are so many deprived areas and Sir Jim Ratcliffe himself is from Failsworth – which is a deprived area. If you take one kid with you, that’s £120, if you take a family, you’re looking at £300-400 – it’s not right.

“Where do these owners get the front to put ticket prices up? For the value – we’re probably having our worst ever Premier League season and they’ve got the cheek to put the prices up.”

And Scholes has questioned how Ratcliffe and INEOS can justify the hike in ticket prices, the Man Utd legend added: “There is nothing positive happening with that football club. The team look bang average. They’re not doing anything for fans.

“If we’ve got Sir Jim Ratcliffe, compared to all these American owners, who’s been a United fan since growing up in an area in Manchester – he’s still hiking prices up. It just shows that they don’t care.”