Eric Cantona says Sir Jim Ratcliffe trying to ‘destroy everything’ at Manchester United and new regime 'don’t respect anybody'
By James Hilsum
Published 10/04/2025 at 20:04 GMT+1
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe's much-maligned spell as Manchester United minority owner took further criticism, as one of the club's all-time greats Eric Cantona expressed his anger at the current measures being taken by the INEOS chairman. Since Ratcliffe took the helm over a year ago, there have been several rounds of redundancies, while controversial plans to build a new 100,000 stadium were announced.
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Eric Cantona delivered a damning verdict of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s spell as minority owner of Manchester United, claiming the Ineos chair is trying to "destroy everything" at the club.
Cantona - who spent five trophy-laden years at Old Trafford - slammed Ratcliffe for his controversial measures since arriving at the club.
The Frenchman did not hold back with his comments made at an event run by FC United of Manchester - a club formed by Red Devils fans protesting against the leveraged Glazers' takeover in 2005.
"Since Ratcliffe arrived this team of directors try to destroy everything and they don't respect anybody," Ratcliffe said in quotes published by BBC Sport.
"I feel sad to see United in this kind of situation. They decided something else. They have another strategy, another project."
The 58-year-old did not stop there in his assessment of the club, and admitted he would support a different team now if given the choice.
"I support United because I really love United, but now if I was a fan and I had to choose a club I don't think I would choose United," Cantona said.
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The changes under Ratcliffe include the plan to move to a new stadium and stripping legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson of his ambassadorial role.
"He doesn't want Sir Alex Ferguson as an ambassador any more. He is more than a legend," he said.
"The soul of the team and the club is not in the players - all the people around is like a big family. I think it's very important to respect these people like you respect your manager and team-mates."
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He continued: "They even want to change the stadium. The stadium is iconic. For me, Arsenal lost their soul when they left Highbury and I'm sure a lot of fans miss Highbury.
"Can you imagine Liverpool playing in another stadium than Anfield? It's impossible. I don't think United can play in another stadium than Old Trafford."
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