Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has said some of the club's players are "not good enough" and "some probably are overpaid" while defending cost-saving measures he said were needed to stave off a financial crisis.
The British billionaire, who took charge of footballing operations at United in February last year, referenced Rasmus Hojlund, Andre Onana and Casemiro, plus Jadon Sancho and Antony, who are both on loan, as he spoke about "players we are buying this summer, that we didn’t buy" in an interview with the BBC.
Ratcliffe said: "These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we’ve inherited those things and have to sort that out.
"For Sancho, who now plays for Chelsea and we pay half his wages, we’re paying £17million [still owed to Borussia Dortmund] to buy him in the summer."
Asked if he was suggesting those players were not good enough for United, Ratcliffe said: "Some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid, but for us to mould the squad that we are fully responsible for, and accountable for, will take time."
After United – currently 14th in the Premier League – finished eighth last season and won the FA Cup, they opted to stick with boss Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman was subsequently sacked in October, being replaced by Ruben Amorim, and Ineos chairman Ratcliffe has accepted the decision to keep Ten Hag on was a mistake – and that the same applied to hiring Dan Ashworth as sporting director, a role he left in December.
"I agree the Erik ten Tag and Dan Ashworth decisions were errors," Ratcliffe said.
"I think there were some mitigating circumstances, but ultimately they were errors. I accept that and I apologise for that."
While United have lost eight out of their 17 league games under Amorim and only won five, Ratcliffe has given him his backing.
"If I actually look at the squad which is available to Ruben, I think he is doing a really good job to be honest," Ratcliffe said. "He's an excellent manager and I think he will be there for a long time."
Ratcliffe was speaking a day on from from thousands of United supporters taking part in a protest against the club’s ownership ahead of the 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Angry chants included some directed at Ratcliffe, whose decisions have included a mid-season ticket hike of remaining home tickets to £66 per match, while last month the club announced up to 200 further redundancies were anticipated, with 250 jobs cut already last summer.
Ratcliffe said some decisions were "unpleasant" but "necessary", and that while he feels sympathy for the fans, "the club runs out of money at Christmas if we don’t do those things".
The 72-year-old, who stressed his "only interest here is returning Manchester United back to greatness again", also said Amorim would have money to spend in the summer, with the budget changing "upon who we may choose to sell", and that the aim of winning the league by 2028, the club’s 150th anniversary, was "not impossible".
"I recognise I'm unpopular at the moment - but I am prepared to be, and I can deal with being unpopular for a period of time because I believe that what we're doing is the right thing.
"Manchester United has come off the rails - we need to get it back on the rails, and I believe what we are doing will put it back on the rails and we'll finish up being where Liverpool or Real Madrid are today in the future."
Meanwhile, Christian Eriksen is ready for United's "massive" Europa League clash with Real Sociedad as Amorim's men look to keep their season alive.
This has been the Red Devils’ worst campaign in decades, with the injury-hit side out of both domestic cup competitions and languishing in the Premier League.
United’s threadbare side secured an encouraging 1-1 draw against title-chasing Arsenal on Sunday, but need to build on that in Thursday’s Europa League round of 16 second leg against La Real at Old Trafford.
The competition is the last remaining route to silverware and, realistically, European qualification for a side whose ability to rebuild this summer would be damaged should they go out.
"It’s massive," experienced midfielder Eriksen said with the tie poised at 1-1. "We know the pressure, we know the situation we’re in in the league.
"To get into Europe next season we have to win a lot of games in the league or go through the Europa League, so we know there’s a lot of pressure on that game, but it also comes with being at this club.
"You play for trophies so we have to play well to go through."
When asked whether it is hard to imagine a United team not being in Europe, Eriksen said: "It’s where they belong, but we don’t belong being in the lower part of the Premier League either so it’s a bit in between.
"We try to do our best to get up (the league). We’re not in a position we want to be in.
"It could save a little bit with the Champions League and the Europa feeling, but in terms of the Prem, we still need to get a lot of points to go higher."
Eriksen says "it’s not fun" to look at the Premier League standings, with the side having recorded more defeats than wins and managed just 34 goals.
Amorim has been frustrated by that lack of cutting edge, with Sunday the latest example of the team's struggles and another goalless game for out-of-sorts Rasmus Hojlund, who came off the bench.
"There’s a lot of players on the pitch, me included, that should score some more goals, not only him," Eriksen said of his Denmark team-mate.
"But obviously he’s a striker, lives for the goals and tries to score goals.
"He’s in these situations (getting chances), it’s about getting the belief of scoring, but he’s a hard-working guy who tries his best and wants his best for the team. At some point it will click and it will go the other way."
Declan Rice scored Arsenal’s equaliser and produced an excellent tackle to stop Hojlund capitalising on his best-looking opening.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, like the hosts, were frustrated not to have found a winner, leaving them 15 points behind leaders Liverpool with just 10 matches to play.
"It was nice having a lot of the ball and passing and moving and having that fluidity, but we didn’t have enough threat in the first half," Rice said.
"In the second half we opened up a little bit more, had some more chances, but also on the other end of that, we were a bit naïve in that last 10 minutes, doing stuff we’ve not done all season and could have easily thrown the game away.
"So, there are two different spins on it for me, and probably a fair point in the end."
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