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Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reported to be “angry” with the number of leaks constantly emerging from the Manchester United dressing room, as well as disciplinary issues throughout the squad – problems which have plagued the club in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, under multiple different managers.
According to HITC, sources at Old Trafford reveal United’s new co-owner has made it known his new executive structure will “not put up with further indiscipline at any level of the club, with particular focus on the players.”
One specific area Ratcliffe is particularly displeased with is players taking to social media to criticise or complain about internal matters, as Alejandro Garnacho did on Saturday evening following the disappointing 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.
The Argentinian winger was withdrawn at half-time, with Erik ten Hag revealing in his post-match interview he felt the right-hand side needed “repair” when asked about the decision. Later that evening, Garnacho ‘liked’ tweets written on X (formerly known as Twitter) by a United fan channel contending the 19 year old was “throw under the bus” by Ten Hag – an indirect but obvious criticism of the Dutch manager.
Ten Hag is reported to have already held talks with Garnacho over the incident, which is described as an “internal matter“, and has been promptly resolved. The Argentine showed contrition by quickly removing his ‘likes’ and a source at the club reveals it is now a “complete non-issue”.
Nonetheless, Ratcliffe, as well as other members of United’s hierarchy, are believed to have been particularly unhappy with the incident, believing it to be a continuation of a type of behaviour allowed to fester at Old Trafford in recent years.
Earlier in the season, Jadon Sancho went one step further on X by directly criticising Ten Hag following the Dutchman’s decision to drop the winger from the squad for the trip to Arsenal. The 24 year old was immediately exiled from the first-team, told only a direct apology to his manager would enable him to return to the fold.
While Garnacho showed repentance for his actions, Sancho refused to give in. This led to him training with the youth teams for nearly four months, eventually leaving for a reunion with Borussia Dortmund in the January transfer window on loan.
There had been some reports suggesting Ratcliffe and his INEOS Sport team may be open to Sancho returning to Old Trafford this summer, particularly if Ten Hag was to depart from United himself at the end of the season. However, the report by HITC indicates Ratcliffe has “already made it known that he backed Ten Hag over the Sancho situation”, with the club seeking to sell the English winger rather than reintegrate him.
Ratcliffe has refused to offer a definitive answer on Ten Hag’s own long-term future at Old Trafford, with a decision to come at the end of the season once the club’s new executive branch, including Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox, as well as potentially Dan Ashworth, is assembled.
While this move by the British billionaire to back Ten Hag over Sancho may be construed as tacit support for the Dutchman, it’s far more likely to be a crystal clear directive to the rest of the United squad about what type of behaviour is and is not acceptable under the INEOS regime – a radical uplift in the expectations of standards in comparison to previous years.
And while Ratcliffe is believed to a “big fan of many aspects of the work done” by Ten Hag in his time in Manchester, the “decisive factor” over his support for the Dutchman was always going to be how United finished the year.
One win in their last seven Premier League games has left Ten Hag’s position extremely weak as his side limps towards one of the worst seasons in the club’s history. Therefore, while the INEOS owner has supported Ten Hag in his wish to see Sancho seen the exit door, it feels increasingly likely the Dutch manager will be following same path as the English winger, barring an unlikely recovery in the next six weeks.
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