Manchester United’s Sir Jim Ratcliffe criticizes Newcastle for Dan Ashworth’s garden

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has expressed concern over Newcastle United’s handling of Dan Ashworth’s gardening leave amid a battle with Manchester United over the sporting director’s compensation fees in an interview Bloomberg. Ashworth, who has been on leave since February after being approved by Manchester United, remains sidelined until a compensation fee agreement is reached with Newcastle. Newcastle United have demanded £20 million in compensation, which Manchester United believe is an absurd figure.

Ratcliffe criticized the situation, saying: “I see absolutely no point in the gardening leaves they have in football. It just makes it difficult to change things at pace.” He contrasted Newcastle’s stance with Southampton’s cooperative approach to Jason Wilcox, pointing out Newcastle as “very difficult and very uncomfortable”.

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Ratcliffe highlighted the impact on Manchester United’s plans, citing the absence of key personnel such as Ashworth and Omer Berrarda. “Until you get people on board, it’s pretty difficult to drive change and it’s just frustrating,” he admitted. Both managers have yet to begin their renovation tenure at Manchester United when the gardening leaves end. Omer Berrarda’s gardening leave runs until mid-July, but Dan Ashworth’s notice period under contract runs until the end of 2025.

With Manchester United aiming to bounce back from eighth place in the 2023-24 Premier League season and an early Champions League exit, Sir Jim Ratcliffe hinted at the challenges of the summer transfer window without Ashworth. “I am not confident that we will solve all the problems in the first transfer window. It will take time,” he said.

Despite the difficulties of placing key executives in the right places and the tight financial rules facing the club, Sir Jim Ratcliffe remained hopeful of a gradual improvement. “We’re going to take two or three summer windows to get to a better place,” he concluded, stressing the long-term nature of their rebuilding efforts.

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