Ratcliffe is being cast as Scrooge but Glazers made Manchester United’s mess

Time will tell if the Ineos chief’s severe cost-cutting pays off, but this is a club that has been mismanaged for years

Jim Ratcliffe has claimed large-scale redundancies are necessary at Old Trafford if the legendary club is to avoid bankruptcy

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is making drastic cuts to Manchester United’s operation for fear that the club are on a fast-track to bankruptcy. Whether such seismic concerns are legitimate or unfounded, it reflects a tale of off‑field financial woe that matches the club’s 12 years in the title‑contending wilderness.

The failure to reel in a 21st championship or make a genuine challenge for one is a direct corollary of slow decline and mismanagement under Malcolm Glazer, and then his six children after his death in 2014.