What Sir Jim Ratcliffe said about Manchester United midfielder Fred

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that the billionaire would be interested in taking over Manchester United from the Glazers, which has been met with an overwhelmingly positive reaction from supporters.

The 69-year-old has not been shy to air his thoughts on how the club has been run over the past few years. The United fan, who failed with a last-ditch effort to buy Chelsea in May, called the Reds’ spending activity “shockingly poor” in 2019, a year after branding the situation at the club “catastrophic”.

Ineos chairman Ratcliffe already owns French outfit Nice having taken over the club three years ago. Shortly after the purchase, he gave his views on United’s spending activity and said their “dumb” strategy was typified in one signing in particular: Brazilian midfielder Fred.

READ MORE: Sir Jim Ratcliffe confirms he wants to buy United

When speaking to The Times about the possibility of taking over United back then, he said: "[Ineos] never wants to be the dumb money in town, never, never. They [United] are in quite a big pickle as a business.

“They haven't got the manager selection right [Ole Gunnar Solskjaer], haven't bought well. They have been the dumb money, which you see with players like Fred." United paid Shakhtar Donetsk around £50m for the Brazilian in 2018.

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