Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has said ‘the UK has been colonised by immigrants’.
The billionaire, who’s founder and chairman of considered one of the world’s largest chemical firms, Ineos, said politicians needed to ‘do some difficult things with the UK to get it back heading in the right direction’.
In an interview with Sky News, the Ineos owner said: ‘You may’t have an economy with nine million people on advantages and big levels of immigrants coming in.
‘I mean, the UK is being colonised. It’s costing an excessive amount of money. The UK has been colonised by immigrants.’
Sir Jim added: ‘For those who actually need to cope with the most important problems with immigration, with people opting to take advantages slightly than working for a living, if you must cope with that, you then are going to need to do some things that are unpopular and show some courage.’
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Within the interview, Sir Jim said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was ‘perhaps too nice’.
He added: ‘It’s a troublesome job, and I feel you’ve gotten to do some difficult things with the UK to get it back heading in the right direction.’
The Manchester United co-owner said Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was an ‘intelligent man’ with ‘good intentions’.
He added: ‘But in a way, you may say the exact same about Keir when Keir got here in.
‘I feel it needs any person who’s prepared to be unpopular for a time frame to get the large issues sorted out.’
Sir Jim bought a minority share in Manchester United in late 2023 and his Ineos group has since taken control of football operations.
The billionaire has presided over a wide range of contentious changes since becoming a part of the ownership, with ticket pricing and availability causing particular anger amongst United fans.
A protest against the club’s owners – including for the primary time towards Sir Jim in addition to the Glazers – took place before Manchester United’s recent home game against Fulham.
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