Sir Jim Ratcliffe will make Manchester United a serious football club again

Sir Jim Ratcliffe described Manchester United as being 'the dumb money' when discussing a potential bid for the club in 2019, but his language might have been more colourful with the recorder switched off.

There has been over £1billion spent on transfers since Sir Alex Ferguson retired and Richard Arnold said it best himself in his chat with supporters in a pub: "We have f***ing burned through cash."

United have been football's worst buyers for a decade and there has been a catalogue of errors committed, with a culture of incompetence deep-rooted in the corridors of Old Trafford.

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The Glazers have been negligent custodians and they've employed the wrong people at boardroom level. Arnold and Ed Woodward should have never been given such power and the latter was a complete disaster.

Arnold improved United commercially during his time at the club and he was responsible for significant sponsorship deals, but his handling of the Mason Greenwood situation made his position untenable.

Arnold was a symbol of the Glazers' reign and Ratcliffe was always understood to want his own people to oversee footballing matters, which he will control after the confirmation of his minority stake.

That was a non-negotiable for Ratcliffe and sources have confirmed INEOS will be delegated responsibility for the management of football operations across the men’s, women’s, and academy teams.

The confirmation of Ratcliffe's acquisition is the perfect present for supporters and a prosperous, brighter 2024 lies ahead. There will be glasses of champagne raised and warm embraces shared among United-obsessed families.

Ratcliffe has famously pursued 'marginal gains'