Manchester United supporters have accused the business tycoon of repeating “far-right rhetoric” that has “real-world” implications, fueling fan anger.
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Published February 12, 2026
Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe this week claimed Britain was “colonized by immigrants”, sparking a backlash from the far-right and stirring up racial hostility.
Politicians, campaigners and fan groups condemned the billionaire’s comments in an interview with Sky News broadcast on Wednesday, in which he suggested “huge numbers of immigrants” were damaging the economy.
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“It is impossible to sustain an economy with nine million people on benefits and a huge influx of migrants,” he said, calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to apologize to X for his “offensive and wrong” comments.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, a member of Starmer’s Labor Party, wrote on X on Thursday that Mr Ratcliffe should withdraw his “inaccurate, insulting and inflammatory” portrayal of migrants as a “hostile and invading force”.
Mr Burnham pointed out that the footballers who came from all over the world to play in Manchester, as well as those working in the NHS and other essential services, had “improved the lives of our city areas”, and suggested that Monaco-based Ratcliffe had “siphoned wealth over the years” from the club while contributing “little to local life”.
Justice Minister Jake Richards told the BBC’s breakfast show that he deemed the tax exile’s comments “ridiculous”. “Jim Ratcliffe moved to Monaco to save this country £4 billion ($5.5 billion) worth of taxes. Some may wonder whether he is the kind of patriot we need to comment on this issue,” he said.
Recent protests against the club’s ownership are likely to escalate further.
Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club expressed anger at Mr Ratcliffe’s use of the word “colonized” to reflect “far-right discourse that views immigrants as invaders and demographic threats”.
“This kind of rhetoric has real-world consequences,” the group said, pointing to a recent rise in racially motivated hostility that has coincided with a surge in support for the Reform Britain party.
Discourse on immigration has tightened in recent years, sparking protests outside a hotel housing asylum seekers last summer, and widespread riots in 2024 over misinformation that a teenager who killed three girls was a Muslim immigrant.
Other fan clubs also stepped up their condemnation of Mr Ratcliffe, with Rainbow Devils, a club for LGBTQ supporters, expressing concern that his words could cause “real harm” to “minority communities generally, including many loyal Manchester United fans who are immigrants”.
Manchester United Supporters Trust pointed out that the club’s leadership should “make inclusion easier, not harder”.
Mr Ratcliffe, who founded chemical giant Ineos in 1998, bought a minority stake in Manchester United in late 2023, which later sparked fan anger over soaring ticket prices.
