How Man Utd squad responded to Sir Jim Ratcliffe comments as former star sends warning | Football

Sections of the Manchester United squad were left ‘alarmed by’ Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comments on immigration with one former player advising the co-owner to depart politics out of the sport.

Ratcliffe told Sky News this week the UK has been ‘colonised by immigrants,’ comments which have provoked a furious response. Fan groups and outstanding figures have condemned the INEOS chief, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer who labelled them ‘offensive and incorrect’.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham meanwhile said Sir Jim’s comments ‘go against all the things for which Manchester has traditionally stood’.

The Football Association are investigating the remarks with the 73-year-old since apologising ‘for his selection or words’ before adding an ‘open debate’ must remain on the matter.

But those words have already caused significant damage among the many United fanbase.

The club has enjoyed a reasonably serene few weeks following the chaos of Ruben Amorim’s shock exit firstly of January.

Under the guidance of Michael Carrick, United have been on an outstanding run of 4 wins on the spin, staying unbeaten against West Ham United midweek and are actually firmly back within the race for Champions League qualification. While the club are all too accustomed to a false dawn and the frustration that accompanies them, positivity has been restored on the red half of Manchester.

But Ratcliffe’s comments have ignited a storm which now hangs over Old Trafford. A lot of United’s most revered club legends are from overseas with their fanbase spanning the globe. Of the 14 players utilized by Carrick within the 1-1 draw with West Ham, only three are born within the UK. One in all them in Harry Maguire is of Irish descent with Kobbie Mainoo’s parents from Ghana.

In total, United have 17 overseas players within the squad with one insider telling the Each day Mail Ratcliffe’s comments haven’t sat well inside the dressing room with several players left alarmed by his ‘out of touch’ remarks.

Paul Parker, born in east London to Jamaican parents, made almost 150 appearances for United between 1991 and 1996. He was a part of the squad that won two Premier League titles alongside Eric Cantona, the Frenchman who who was essentially the most influential figure on the pitch during those successes.

The previous right-back fears this week’s developments are one other indication that politics are actually overshadowing football, describing it as ‘a killer for the sport.’

‘My first thought is, I don’t know the way it’s been allowed, but we’ve suddenly allowed politics to get entangled in football,’ Parker told Metro via Mr Luck. ‘Even pre this example, I believe it’s been a killer for the sport, because politics has been allowed to get entangled in it.

‘The sport was for the people, generally the working-class people, and it was their game, and it’s been taken away by suits, and hastily, what comes with suits is politics.

‘Now it looks like they’re being welcomed, and it’s killing our game.’

With Ratcliffe’s interview causing concern among the many current squad, Parker believes his comments were short-sighted at best.

‘That’s what it boils right down to. A generally naive, older fella, and as you become old, you do speak out and say what you’re thinking that. It’s a privilege sometimes, and you suspect you may do this, because at the tip of it, what have you ever got to lose?’

Shortly after Ratcliffe’s apology, United released a press release of their very own, expressing their pride in being ‘a various group of players’. Their statement made no reference to Ratcliffe or his comments.

MORE: Jermain Defoe singles out Arsenal star after Brentford draw: ‘Not adequate’

MORE: Arsenal star spotted limping onto team bus after Brentford attract latest injury scare

MORE: Martin Keown blown away by ‘magnificent’ Arsenal star after draw with Brentford