‘I don’t talk bulls***’ – Nicky Butt tells Sir Jim Ratcliffe his Man Utd title masterplan ‘ain’t gonna happen’
MANCHESTER UNITED icon Nicky Butt has slammed the club’s long-term plan for success, claiming the proposed masterplan “ain’t gonna happen”.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Ineos and the club as whole have outlined ambitious plans to bring success back to the red side of Manchester in the near future, claiming the club will be Premier League champions once again by 2028.
Those plans, which have been labelled as ‘Project 150’, coincide with the club’s 150th anniversary and also include the ambition to be competing for a fourth European Cup by that point too.
However, Butt has suggested that the idea of United becoming one of the top teams in Europe again in the space of three years is unrealistic and unachievable.
Speaking at The Champions for Children Gala Dinner, according to The Times, he said: “If I’m being honest — and I don’t like to talk bulls***— that ain’t going to happen.
“There’s a long way to go for that. What gets me is when people talk about getting to where they want to be — everyone expects other clubs to sit still but they’re going to go forward as well.
“Newcastle, Liverpool will get better, [Manchester] City will definitely get better, Chelsea are getting better, Arsenal are getting better every year. And then obviously, there’s lots of smaller clubs as well.
“The most important thing is starting on the right foot and hopefully get this season put to bed, because it’s been a disaster.
“And hopefully we get some plans in place for the stadium, get some new recruitment in, and give Ruben Amorim the right tools to try and at least get a decent team on the pitch.”
Man Utd have had an atrocious campaign this season and currently sit 13th in the Premier League, while they were already dumped from the FA Cup and League Cup.
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The abysmal form has come in the same season as huge budget cuts, backlash from fan groups, big name departures and now increased ticket prices.
Man Utd announced a five per cent increase in the cost of adult season tickets, as well as turfing out a few hundred holders from their usual seats to make way for a new hospitality area behind the Old Trafford dugout in the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand.
Club legend Ryan Giggs, who also attended the Gala Dinner, has lambasted the United hierarchy for their decision to move fans on from those seats, claiming friends of his “don’t know where they’re going to go” after 25 years in the same spot.
He slammed: “Man United is special because of what we’ve done on the pitch over a number of years, but the fans have always made the club.
“My mates have been [behind] the dugout for 25 years and they’re getting turfed away.
“They don’t know where they’re going to go. That’s the experience that I’ve had firsthand of friends just wondering where they’re going to be. It’s difficult.
“They’ve got their names on their seats. They’ve been there 25 years and they’re having to move. It’s tough to see the club in this sort of situation.”
Butt weighed in on the changes too, adding: “There are a lot of things I think they’re doing wrong, but we all know that and it’s sad to see.
“Because I’ve loved Manchester United since I was six years of age and it’s not the Manchester United that I know and loved.
“I find it bizarre how the ticket prices keep going up. They can’t keep going up. Something’s got to stop, something’s got to give.
“They’ve not got the added fallback of winning loads of medals. I see where it’s coming from. They are trying to balance the books, but they’re punishing the wrong people, in my eyes.”
Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe revealed earlier this month that Man Utd were going to “run out of cash by the end of 2025”, had it not been for increased prices and huge cuts across the club.
United announced that 200 staff members are set to be made redundant this year, after over 250 were let go in 2024.
While other budget cuts have included ditching the annual Christmas party, taking away free lunches for staff and removing Sir Alex Ferguson from his paid role as an ambassador.
Despite the huge cuts and concerns for finances at the club, United have still announced plans to build a brand new 100,000-seat stadium to replace Old Trafford.
The project is thought to cost around £2BILLION, and designs have featured a circus tent-like design after architects were consulted to mock up some images of the new home of the Red Devils.
But Giggs doesn’t even think the club will stick to their plans to keep the tent look for the stadium.
He said: “I think everyone, if it was possible, would like to keep the stadium as it is. What they’ve done at the Nou Camp, what they’ve done at the Bernabeu.
“If that isn’t possible, then the next best thing is a new stadium. Man United has always been at the forefront of technology, about having the best facilities, having the best stadium, having the best fan experience and we fell behind with that.
“As well as on the pitch, off the pitch, we fell behind with a lot of things. The design is not going to look like that, I don’t think.
“I think when you see buildings and it gets the headlines and it’s that sort of shock.
“But if it is going to be a new stadium, which it looks like, it needs to be the best. Hopefully we get the best players on the pitch as well.”
Probed further on the circus designs, he said: “I don’t think it’s going to happen!”