Sir Jim Ratcliffe took a brief respite from Manchester United duties to celebrate INEOS Britannia’s Louis Vuitton Cup victory in sailing.
It means Great Britain will compete for the America’s Cup for the first time since 1964 following their 7-4 victory over Italy in a qualifier in Barcelona.
Team captain and four-time Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie was supported by Manchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe after the Manchester United minority shareholder provided huge financial backing to the team.
The America’s Cup is the world’s longest-running international sporting competition with its first edition having taken place in 1851.
Great Britain is yet to win the competition, however qualification has handed them the opportunity to battle for the prize when they take on New Zealand on October 12.
Friday’s victory provided Ratcliffe with a momentary period of bliss before turning his attention back to the challenging task of his Manchester United rebuild.
The Ineos CEO has seen first hand, the difficulties both on and off the pitch since his arrival and despite a summer of investment including new players and refurbishments to the club’s training ground and the Old Trafford tunnel, little has changed on the pitch with progress continuing to be hampered by inconsistent form.
United let a two-goal lead slip against FC Porto on Thursday night, only to sneak a late equaliser to salvage a 3-3 draw.
The result leaves United in 21st position in the standings with two points from a possible six in the Europa League.
It doesn’t make for good reading in the Premier League either with United slumped in 13th place after last weekend’s 3-0 defeat at home to Spurs.
Ratcliffe will be anxious to ensure the club’s fortunes turn around quickly in hope of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. Failure to do so could have huge financial implications.
The 71-year-old is reportedly heading to Villa Park on Sunday to get a closer look at Manchester United when they face high-flying Aston Villa.
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His appearance could be a significant moment in the curious case of boss Erik ten Hag whose future remains unclear after a stuttering start to the season.
A poor result and display against Unai Emery’s men could see club chiefs pull the plug on the Dutchman ahead of the international break.
Ten Hag has steered United to just six wins in the last 19 league games and one win in the club’s previous nine European outings.
When asked if he still has faith in the Dutchman, Ratcliffe refused to rule out a change in the dugout. He told the BBC: “I don’t want to answer that question. I like Erik, I think he’s a very good coach but at the end of the day it’s not my call.
“It’s the management team that’s running Manchester United that has to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.
“But that team that’s running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. They weren’t there in January, February, March or April – [CEO] Omar [Berrada], [Sporting Director] Dan Ashworth – they only arrived in July
“They’ve only been there, you can count it in weeks almost – they’ve not been there a long time so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.
“Our objective is very clear – we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be, and it’s not there yet, obviously – that’s very clear.”
