Gary Neville outlines impossible Sir Jim Ratcliffe dilemma ahead of partial Man Utd takeover

Gary Neville has said Sir Jim Ratcliffe must be a ‘mouthpiece’ for Manchester United once he purchases a minority stake in the club, but has warned the British billionaire that he faces a tough dilemma when he begins his stewardship at Old Trafford.

Ratcliffe’s Ineos delegation are expected to complete a 25 percent takeover of United in the coming weeks, with the 71-year-old planning to take control of football operations at the club. While the Glazers ceding some control over United is undoubtedly a positive, Neville has said that the potential new shareholder will face several challenges after buying a stake in his boyhood club.

Speaking after United’s 3-0 capitulation against Manchester City on Sunday, Neville warned Ratcliffe against publicly aligning himself with the Glazers, but added he can’t criticise the incumbent owners.

“He could improve the mood and the stability in the boardroom and in the club and around the fanbase,” Neville said on Sky Sports. “But you have to remember that Jim Ratcliffe comes into this football club and what’s his first statement going to be? If he doesn’t make a statement he is going to be in trouble because he has to speak.

“The fans have to hear from someone quickly. If Jim Ratcliffe comes in he has either got to say ‘I’m going to enjoy working with the Glazer family’, which is going to turn a section of the fans against him, or he’s going to say ‘they’ve been the problem and I’m going to fix it’, which will turn his partners against him. His first steps into the football club are going to be interesting in terms of how he makes it work.

“He has got so much experience and resilience. I suspect he thinks at the age and experience he’s got that he can come in and sort this ship out, which means he needs to park the Glazer family to one side and has to be a mouthpiece for the club so it looks like the club has a voice.

“He is going to have to set the tone for the next five years and look at what a football club - a project, a stadium, a vision - looks like, and get everyone in the club feeling better and stable. At the moment, this club is so struggling on the inside because of all the noise around the club.”