Ratcliffe is almost finished with his £1.3 billion purchase of 25% of the team, which will also see him unseat the Glazer family as United’s sporting leader. Once through the door, he is expected to act ruthlessly, with numerous adjustments resulting from Sir Dave Brailsford’s audit.

Having grown up in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, the 71-year-old is a supporter of United, but his commercial acumen overrides his allegiance to the team. He has a history of speaking out against United, citing in particular their reputation as the “dumb money” in the community.

In his latest book, he makes fun of Fernandes and expresses his dislike for play acting as well. The captain of United is criticized for “clutching his untouched face in the Liverpool debacle,” most likely alluding to his performance during the humiliation of Liverpool 7-0 in March.

Fernandes’ actions during United’s humiliating 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth on Saturday have put him in the public eye. After receiving his fifth booking of the year for disagreeing with the referee during the last moments of the match, the Portuguese midfield player will be suspended for the match against Liverpool the following weekend.

Whether or not that accusation of receiving a yellow card for his disobedient behavior is accurate, Ratcliffe was not impressed by such an incident. After his takeover is approved, the billionaire will meet with important people. Club officials and manager Erik ten Hag will be the first people the billionaire speaks with, but Fernandes, the club captain, will also be addressed.

Ratcliffe already owns two football teams, Lausanne and Nice, and he also has stakes in the INEOS sailing team and the Mercedes Formula One squad. His investment in United is based on his belief that the company is underperforming and has room for improvement. They’ll need capable leadership both on and off the field to do this.

Ten Hag, who took Harry Maguire’s armband off, gave Fernandes the leadership. The midfielder needs to step up, starting on Tuesday against Bayern Munich in their crucial Champions League match.

Fernandes expressed regret to the team’s supporters on Saturday. He said, “(I want to) apologize for the performance.” “It was unacceptable, beginning with myself. I am not referring to any other person.

“However, I believe that everyone in the changing room feels that we need to improve our performance because it was (not) up to par. It was not as aggressive as we were in the last game against Chelsea, and it was disappointing in terms of effort and quality. You won’t win the game if you don’t perform your duties.