David Beckham has backed minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to bring necessary change to Manchester United, but admitted it could take time for the club to return to the top.
United have not won the Premier League title since Beckham’s former manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 and last season recorded their worst-ever Premier League finish, coming eighth.
But the sporting structure at Old Trafford has been overhauled under Ratcliffe since becoming a minority owner in February and Beckham said those changes were sorely needed.
“I think that it definitely needed change,” Beckham told his former United and England teammate Rio Ferdinand on his “Rio Ferdinand Presents” podcast. “Speaking as a United fan, I think that many people had said that the club needed change and it needed a fresh perspective in how this club needs to be run and the decisions that are made.
“I really like Jim [Ratcliffe]. 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 that’s a big part of it.
“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. So, hopefully, things will change but these things take time. 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.”
While United have continued to struggle this season, Beckham has enjoyed much greater success with his own team, Inter Miami. The club has already claimed the Supporters’ Shield as MLS’ best regular-season team and on Saturday could break the all-time record for most points in a single season.
The team has been led by Argentina great Lionel Messi. And Beckham said that he took some inspiration from Ferguson when bringing the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner to Miami last year.
“I think that one of the things that I learned from the boss over the years — and it wasn’t something that he specifically told me — one of the things that I learned from the boss was it’s not about bringing the biggest and best players, it’s about bringing the right players.
“If you can bring the biggest and best players that is the right player. There’s not many of them around, but with Leo we knew that we were bringing and I knew that, yes he was going to be successful on the field but I also knew that he was going to help our club off the field.”
