Manchester United great Rio Ferdinand urges Sir Jim Ratcliffe to do what Glazers have failed to do

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Rio Ferdinand has urged Sir Jim Ratcliffe to restore transparency to Manchester United if he secures a 25 per cent stake in the club.

Ratcliffe's Ineos Group is widely expected to invest £1.3billion in a minority stake amid the reluctance to sell the club from the incumbent owners, the Glazer family.

Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani withdrew his offer of £5bn to buy United outright earlier this month, leaving Ineos as the only interested party left at the table. READ MORE: How Eriksen and tactical changes improved United READ MORE: Hojlund gives first interview to English journalists Ferdinand trumpeted the possibility of Qatari ownership of United in June but, with Ratcliffe poised to have influence at the club, United great Ferdinand is hopeful he will be more communicative than the notoriously reclusive Glazers. "I just think I've been quite consistent in my views on the lack of communication, that's one area," Ferdinand told the Manchester Evening News. "If Mr Ratcliffe is going to go into the football club with a 25 per cent shareholding that's an area he should really get a hold of and bring some clarity and transparency to the football club. "That's a lot of where the hysteria stems from - the not knowing is always a problem that can create different stories and it allows other people to create narratives around the football club that might not necessarily be true. "If Man United can get back to controlling that narrative and communicating to the fanbase I think that will be a very good start." Ferdinand was not a stranger to anti-Glazer protests during his playing career.

Militant United supporters turned out in force to voice their opposition to the takeover in 2005 and the second half of the 2009-10