Gary Lineker calls Sir Jim Ratcliffe an ‘unpleasant human being’ amid Man Utd criticism | Football

Gary Lineker did not hold back during his scathing criticism of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, describing the Manchester United co-owner as an ‘unpleasant human being’.

There was optimism when the INEOS CEO bought a minority stake of the Premier League giants in 2024, taking over control of ‘football operations’ from the much-maligned Glazer family.

That optimism has so far proved misguided, with United mostly regressing both on and off the pitch over the past two years.

The Red Devils finished 15th in Ratcliffe’s first full season at the helm, their worst ever result in the Premier League, before head coach Ruben Amorim, whom they had paid a fortune to hire, was sacked after just over a year in the dugout.

A third-place finish under Michael Carrick last season renewed hope, but they have endured an awful start to this campaign, winning just one of their opening five league games and getting dumped out of the Carabao Cup at the earliest opportunity.

‘I look at Man United and I see problems coming down from the top,’ England legend Lineker said on The Rest is Football.

‘I must congratulate the Glazers on finding someone even worse than them that they can blame and getting him in there and getting all the stick: Jim Ratcliffe.

‘I don’t think he’s a particularly pleasant human being and it’s a bit of shambles of a football club the way it’s being run at the moment. So, well done to the Glazers on that one, deflecting everything away from them!’

Another issue United have encountered in the last week is wonderkid JJ Gabriel asking to leave the club. It is said the 15-year-old’s family want the transfer as they feel United have fallen far behind the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City under the Glazers and Ratcliffe.

Off the pitch, Ratcliffe has unveiled plans for a new stadium to replace Old Trafford but received much criticism for axing hundreds of jobs at the club and over the treatment of long-term season ticket holders.

Fans protested against United’s ownership ahead of and during September’s Manchester derby defeat, and supporters groups have called on Ratcliffe to resign over his recent comments on immigration.

‘It is a bit of a mess that club. You’ve got a ground that’s falling apart, all sorts of complaints about various things.

‘They’re losing young teenagers, it looks like that [Gabriel leaving] is going to happen.

‘The results, the inconsistency seems to be back. They have backed the manager lots of times and it’s not worked for them but there’s got to be something dripping down from the top.’

After the three-week international break, Carrick will have the chance to help get things back on track when United take on win-less Tottenham on October 10.

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