Billionaire is taking a ruthless approach at a club which, under the Glazers, became a byword for complacency

In Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s push to revolutionise Manchester United from relic to ruthless winning machine he possesses the vital element missing from the Glazers’ listless ownership: a searing will to do so.

As the controller of football policy and the largest minority shareholder, Ratcliffe has the executive levers to engineer change. The six Glazer siblings, too, have these. Yet in the decade between Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in May 2013 and Ratcliffe’s advent last Christmas Eve, there was scant intent from the majority shareholders to ensure United were best in class.