Jim Ratcliffe’s commitment to Manchester United’s women’s team has again been called into question after it was revealed that the minority owner asked former club captain Katie Zelem what she did when she gave him a tour of the side’s facilities.
A year on from the Ineos billionaire’s purchase of a 27.7 per cent stake in the club – which has since risen to 28.94 per cent – there has been increasing discontent over the new regime, who have carried out a series of brutal cost-cutting measures against the backdrop of a performance dip in the men’s team.
Ratcliffe and his leadership team which includes Ineos’ director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford came under scrutiny for clumsy sacking of former manager Erik ten Hag months after agreeing a new contract with the Dutchman, and the firing of newly minted sporting director Dan Ashworth after just five months.
The Monaco-based businessman has also been criticised for a perceived lack of interest in the women’s game, with Ratcliffe opting to attend a Premier League tie at Old Trafford last season instead of the FA Cup final, which saw the side lift their first ever FA Cup trophy at Wembley in May.
The 72-year-old has disagreed with reports on these lines, stating in an interview last year that the perception of his disinterest was ‘slightly misguided’.
But a new report by Telegraph Sport appears to have muddied the waters with the revelation that Ratcliffe was unaware he was speaking to his captain when he met Zelem at Carrington while being given a tour by the player.
Jim Ratcliffe has again come under scrutiny for his perceived lack of interest in Man United’s women’s team
The minority owner is thought to have asked club captain Katie Zelem (centre) what she did on a tour of the women’s facilities
Ratcliffe opted not to watch the team’s historic FA Cup triumph at Wembley at the end of last season – instead taking in a men’s match
Zelem, like Ratcliffe, was born near Oldham and had been part of the club’s women’s set-up since the age of eight.
Last summer saw the player leave the club to join American side Angel City in Los Angeles.
Similarly damning was insight into his dismissal of Ashworth, who was seen as an ally of the women’s game by Man United players during his brief time at the club.
Those in the set-up were reportedly ‘deflated’ when Ashworth’s shock sacking was announced in December, with Ashworth thought to be ‘very passionate’ about Marc Skinner’s side.
Ratcliffe is not believed to have had a single conversation with Ashworth about the women’s team during his entire tenure.
Over the summer, the women’s team were moved away from their facilities to temporary accommodation to make way for the men’s side, currently undergoing their own £50million revamp of the training base.
And Ratcliffe’s previous comments have had a similar air of second-best about them, with the United owner calling the men’s team the ‘main’ one and admitting that it was ‘hard to focus’ on the women’s project.
However, under the aegis of Man United’s ambitious Project 150 – spearheaded by Brailsford and named for the club’s milestone anniversary in 2028 – plans are afoot for the women’s team to gain their first Women’s Super League title.
The project, titled Mission 1, echoes one for the men’s team, named Mission 21, which aims to secure a 21st league title for Ruben Amorim’s side.
Skinner’s players sit second in the standings this season, seven points behind runaway league leaders Chelsea.
