SPORT Transfer: Why we didn’t buy Mbappe – Man Utd co-owner Ratcliffe
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has said he doesn’t think the solution to the club’s problems “is to buy an Mbappe.”
According to him, it is better to build a balanced squad.
Kylian Mbappe has been confirmed as a Real Madrid player after leaving Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent.
Mbappe has put pen to paper a five-year deal worth €15 million a year after taxes and will also receive a €150 million signing-on fee, spread over his deal.
“I don’t think the solution is to buy an Mbappe,” Ratcliffe told The Times CEO Summit on Thursday.
We are more grassroots than that. One player is not going to solve the problem at Manchester United. The first thing we need to do is build a balanced squad and ultimately maybe top it off with one or two players like Mbappe. It will take two or three summer windows to get to a better place.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants Man Utd to become like Real Madrid and aims to see more of their squad valued at a higher price.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe needs Erik ten Hag’s help to make his €100m target work at United
Wanting to be more like Real Madrid is a target almost every football club in Europe would aspire to at the moment. Champions of Europe for the sixth time in 11 seasons, playing in one of Europe’s most stunning stadiums with a young squad that looks like it can only get better. There is a lot to like.
So when Sir Jim Ratcliffe says of Ineos’ ambitions for Manchester United that “we want to be where Real Madrid is today” you can understand the sentiment. As two clubs who see themselves as amongst the grandest on the continent, there are similarities as well.
What is most interesting about the rise of Real is their pivot during a period of dominance. They began their control of the Champions League during the second Galacticos era of Florentino Perez, with the likes of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo to the fore.
But gradually they have edged away from the model of signing superstars. Now, they have a squad that has been created via a two-pronged strategy. Signing experienced players on free transfers and spending on young players with room to develop.
That is a change of approach with a line in the sand in the summer of 2019, when Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic were the headline arrivals for €160m. Both flopped.
This summer Kylian Mbappe is the latest player to sign for Real at the end of his contract, following the lead of Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba. Since 2021 they have spent fees on signing 18-year-old Eduardo Camavinga, 22-year-old Aurelien Tchouameni, 18-year-old Arda Guler, 19-year-old Jude Bellingham and 16-year-old Endrick. Vinicius and Rodrygo were also plucked from the Brazilian league at a young age.
It has become an almost unbeatable strategy. Only Bellingham cost more than €100m but according to respected German website Transfermarkt, six of the squad are now worth nine figures, including Camavinga, Tchouameni, Rodrygo, Bellingham and Vinicius.
It shows the importance of adding value to a player and all those mentioned have improved at the Bernabeu. Carlo Ancelotti might be labelled as a hands-off coach and an elite man manager, but via the training pitches and building a winning team, he has had a major hand in making all of those players better than when they signed for the club.
Contrast that to the squad at Old Trafford. “Manchester United doesn’t have any players that are valued at €100 million or more,” Ratcliffe told Bloomberg. Transfermarkt agrees with him, with Bruno Fernandes the most valuable player in the squad at €70m. Antony cost United the best part of €100m but Transfermarkt now has him valued at €25m.
That regression tells a story. That players tend to depreciate in value at Old Trafford rather than see value added to them. Fernandes is the one player who has clearly improved at United in recent years.
That could certainly change. Rasmus Hojlund (€60m), Kobbie Mainoo (€50m) and Alejandro Garnacho (€45m) all have the potential to hit the nine-figure valuation target. Plenty of United fans will consider those values under par as it is, but Hojlund and Garnacho have areas to sharpen up in the final third. If Mainoo delivers another season like the last he could soon be the best player in this squad.
The lesson here is that to have that target of having €100m players in the squad, you need a system that can add value to them. Ratcliffe has already made it clear he doesn’t intend to sign ready-made superstars.
That means United need a coaching staff capable of improving players and developing a game plan that allows them to thrive on the pitch. For now, Ineos have backed Erik ten Hag as that man.
In his first season at the club, the Dutchman looked capable of that, helping to turn Marcus Rashford into a 30-goal-a-season forward. His second season followed a very different path.
They also need a recruitment team capable of finding the players capable of making the step up. With the path to signing under-18s from Europe and South America now blocked, that is a challenge and it is why Ratcliffe has been so willing to wait for Dan Ashworth to take up the role as sporting director.
If the combination of head coach and sporting director succeeds, then it should only be a matter of time before the United squad has those €100m players Ratcliffe wants.
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