Lineker slams Man Utd co-owner Ratcliffe over immigrant claims: ‘The hypocrisy really’ | OneFootball

Former Tottenham striker Gary Lineker has hit out at Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe over his comments about immigrants.

Ratcliffe faced a big backlash this week after he used inaccurate population figures to claim Britain had been “colonised” by immigrants in recent years.

The British billionaire, who bought 27.7 per cent of Man Utd in February 2024, was given control of football operations as the Glazer family took more of a backseat at Old Trafford.

The INEOS founder has plans to build a new 100,000-seater stadium but is already an unpopular figure after angering many people at the club with Man Utd legends, staff and fans impacted by his controversial cost-cutting exercise.

After being urged to apologise by prime minister Keir Starmer, Ratcliffe said sorry for his “choice of language” after the recent Sky News interview.

Ratcliffe said: “Sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe.

“My comments were made while answering questions about UK policy at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, where I was discussing the importance of economic growth, jobs, skills and manufacturing in the UK.

“My intention was to stress that governments must manage migration alongside investment in skills, industry and jobs so that long-term prosperity is shared by everyone. It is critical that we maintain an open debate on the challenges facing the UK.”

And that has not stopped former Match of the Day presenter Lineker hitting out at Ratcliffe, he said on The Rest is Football: “The hypocrisy really – the guy’s a migrant himself, an economic migrant [because] he lives in Monaco. You can have a gripe all you like, but at least be here, pay tax and contribute to our society.

“I would say a lot of these migrants who come in contribute enormously and facts show you that in terms of revenue and paid tax. Whereas, Jim out there, in Monaco, is doing everything he can to avoid paying tax.”

Lineker continued: “Also, you’re one of the owners of Manchester United, a club that has a lot of players from overseas. When he’s talking about colonised with immigrants, is it OK that you’re a white person living abroad, not a brown or black person? I don’t know, only he can answer that question.

“Lots and lots of my friends who support United have come on and said similar things to what I’m saying now, they’re very disappointed. Look at the story of [how] Amad has ended up here. So I find it deeply concerning that an owner of a football club can say that sort of thing. Anyway, we’ll move on.”