David Beckham Confident Ratcliffe Can Get Manchester United Back on Top

David Beckham in the Royal Box ahead of the Gentlemen's Singles first round match between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Mark Lajal of Estonia during day one of The Championships Wimbledon 2024 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on July 1, 2024. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Manchester United legend David Beckham has a vision for the storied club centered on minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Beckham, currently the owner of Inter Miami in MLS, is confident that Ratcliffe, chairman and CEO of chemical firm INEOS, restore the Red Devils to their former glory.

Manchester United has not won the Champions League since 2008. The club has not won the English Premier League since 2013.

“I really like Jim,” Beckham said on the “Rio Ferdinand Presents” podcast on Thursday. “I’ve met him a few times over the years with a few mutual friends and I think that he’s a fan and obviously he’s a great businessman as well. One of the best and one of the biggest. But I think more importantly the fans see that he cares, and I think that’s a big part of it.”

Last season, Manchester United finished in eighth place in the English Premier League (EPL) with 18 wins, 6 draws, and 14 losses, the worst performance in the club’s history. The squad is not faring much better this year.

Manchester United is in 14th place in the EPL with 2 wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses. The victories have come against Fulham (eighth place) and Southampton (19th place).

The biggest challenge for Manchester United has been scoring goals. The team has five goals in seven matches while conceding eight goals.

There is mounting pressure on the manager Erik ten Hag to get the season back on track. His job security is being questioned by former Manchester United stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, who said the club needs a complete overhaul to get back atop the standings and win another Champions League title.

Ronaldo, who played for Manchester United from 2003 to 2009 and again in 2021–2022, was one of the club’s most prolific scorers with 145 goals in 346 matches.

“When I’m back there, I was very happy. I was one of the best scorers. I did unbelievable things with the club,” Ronaldo said on the same “Rio Ferdinand Presents” podcast. “Manchester, they need to rebuild everything, in my opinion. The coach, they say they cannot compete to win the league and Champions League.

“You cannot say that as the Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you’re not going to fight to win the league or Champions League. You have to ... say, listen, maybe we don’t have that potential, but I cannot say that. We’re going to try. You have to try.”

Beckham also understands the fans’ frustration with the performance of the club. He is confident that Ratcliffe will help provide the resources to sign high-caliber players and challenge elite clubs such as Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, and Chelsea, which currently reside in the top four places in the EPL standings.

“I think obviously the fans had lost faith with the leadership over the years and obviously he really cares about what he wants to do and what he wants to create,” Beckham said on his former teammate’s podcast. These things take time. “So, hopefully, things will change but these things take time. I think we have been quite patient as United fans over the years, but we want those good old days back. We want those days back, and the sooner the better.”

Manchester United resumes EPL play Saturday against Brentford at Old Trafford. The Europa League competition against Fenerbahce in Turkey on Thursday night.

The Red Devils did get some good news as defender Noussair Mazraoui, winger Alejandro Garnacho, and midfielder Amad Diallo were able to practice this week after dealing with various injuries.