Jim Ratcliffe, the co-owner of Manchester United, apologised for his “choice of words” after claiming the UK had been “colonised by immigrants”. It is a pity he did not also apologise for getting his facts completely wrong.
Ratcliffe’s “colonisation” thesis rested on the claim that the UK population had leapt from 58 million in 2020 to 70 million today. In fact, the figure in 2020 was closer to 67 million, an error of scale that rather undermines the point.
One of Britain’s richest men, billionaire Ratcliffe successfully built a petrochemical empire with Ineos, but his record at Old Trafford has been less than stellar.
United was mismanaged well before Ratcliffe arrived, but he has yet to impose the reset many had hoped for. United’s share price is below where it was when he bought a stake in the club in late 2023, and his footballing missteps have followed a pattern of conviction swiftly followed by retreat.
He extended the contract of Erik ten Hag, the Dutchman who was United’s manager at the time, and sanctioned close to £200 million (€230 million) in transfer spending, only to sack him three months later – an expensive bout of second-guessing.
[ Man United owner Jim Ratcliffe sorry he ‘offended’ some after saying UK ‘colonised by immigrants’ ]
The appointment of Ten Hag’s permanent successor, Portugal’s Ruben Amorim, followed a similar script. Ratcliffe was enthusiastic, but Dan Ashworth – United’s newly poached sporting director – urged caution, warning the club lacked the players for Amorim’s rigid 3-4-3 system.
Ashworth was gone within months. Amorim, hired in the knowledge of his tactical inflexibility and forceful personality, was later dismissed when those same traits jarred with the squad and the club’s internal politics.
If Ratcliffe’s football instincts sometimes outpace careful judgment, his public pronouncements do too, whether about Brexit (he supported the Leave campaign) or immigration.
Talk of “colonisation” landed awkwardly at a club with a squad featuring players of more than a dozen nationalities and with fans from across the globe, prompting obvious reputational embarrassment.
That United felt obliged to reassert their “pride” in being “an inclusive and welcoming club” is a reminder that global reach demands global awareness.