Sir Jim Ratcliffe has taken a swipe at Bruno Fernandes’ theatrics ahead of acquiring a £1.3 billion ($1.6bn) stake in Manchester United.
Britain’s richest man, who was a boyhood Red Devils supporter, is set to wrestle 25% of power away from the unpopular Glazer family at Old Trafford.
Sweeping changes are being mooted ahead of that investment being confirmed.
However, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is expected to improve ageing infrastructure and questionable recruitment policy in Manchester.
Many are ready to throw open their doors to the CEO of the INEOS chemicals group.
But United captain Fernandes may have an early bone to pick with him.
That is because the Portuguese playmaker has seen a jibe aimed in his direction on the opening page of Ratcliffe’s new book.
In the publication ‘Introducing Grit, Rigour & Humour: the Ineos Story’, Ratcliffe details how, during a trip around the Pacific, he “felt the ground tremble every time a Cook Islander smashed into another in a local rugby match”.
“He saw one player “carted off in the back of a pick-up with a broken leg”, with Ratcliffe describing incident as a “far cry from Bruno Fernandes clutching his untouched face in the Liverpool debacle recently” – after seeing United suffer a humbling 7-0 defeat against their arch-rivals in the 2022-23 campaign.
Fernandes’ antics on that day also attracted criticism from Gary Neville.
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However, the ex-United defender said this while on commentary duty for Sky Sports. “There was a VAR check for an elbow – it was on his chest.
“Oh, he holds his face. That’s embarrassing from Bruno Fernandes.
“It’s on his chest and he goes down. He’s so frustrating at times.”
