Club’s youth system has been outstripped by rivals but minority owner eager to make changes
Manchester United’s academy has fallen behind those of its rivals and must be improved to help the club both financially and on the pitch, according to minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The British billionaire said the club’s famous youth system has “really slipped” in recent years. Ratcliffe’s Ineos group took control of football operations at the club in 2024 after buying a 28.94% stake. They have since worked on improving decaying standards at the club.
“The academy is fundamentally important in football,” Ratcliffe told The Business Podcast. “You need the academy to be producing talent all the time.
“It helps you financially. And you have to have a certain number of British players in your squad.”
United have named an academy graduate in every senior matchday squad since 1937, but Ratcliffe believes that tradition has masked a decline in the quality of youth development.
Rivals such as Manchester City and Liverpool have been far more effective at generating revenue from academy sales.
Over the past year Liverpool sold youngsters such as Fabio Carvalho, Sepp van den Berg, Ben Gannon-Doak and Tyler Morton for a total of around £70m, even with minimal first-team experience.
However, Ratcliffe admitted United’s new administrators “haven’t even begun” work on improving the academy.
Ineos has already undertaken major redevelopment work at Carrington, completing a £50m upgrade to first-team facilities in August.
