Man United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe says no to Ruben Amorim's pursuit of iconic striker: Report

Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe had given manager Ruben Amorim the freedom to build the squad as per his preferences earlier this summer despite the Red Devils finishing a shocking 15th on the Premier League table last season.

Amorim went for a complete overhaul on the attacking front by signing the trio of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko and made a last-minute acquisition of relatively untested Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens, with United finishing among the top spenders in the summer transfer window by splurging £251 million.

United, it seems, aren't done rebuilding their squad yet. After focusing on their forwards and their goalkeeper this summer, they are now aiming to bring in fresh faces in the midfield in order to ease the burden on Portuguese star Bruno Fernandes, with the club not giving up on Carlos Baleba yet despite being turned down by Brighton earlier.

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Ratcliffe unlikely to approve Amorim’s pursuit of Lewandowski

While Ratcliffe has largely given Amorim the freedom to sign players as per his liking, the founder and CEO of the INEOS group has put his foot down as far as signing Polish icon Robert Lewandowski’s concerned, according to The Daily Mirror.

Lewandowski has had a prolific run with Barcelona since he joined the Catalan club in 2022, particularly since former Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick replaced Xavi as coach last year. The 37-year-old, however, is in the final year of his contract with the Spanish giants and has not been offered a new one, meaning he is likely to enter the market as a free agent next summer.

While Amorim is a long-time admirer of the striker and believes he could be a valuable addition to the side next year, Ratcliffe thinks otherwise and isn’t willing to repeat United’s mistake of signing a star player who is nearing the end of his career.

United had previously welcomed Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo back for a second spell in 2021. The latter’s second spell at Old Trafford, however had ended on a disastrous note, with the iconic forward storming out of the club in late 2022 after a complete breakdown in relations with newly-appointed manager Erik ten Hag as well as the board.

Like Ronaldo, the Red Devils had also invested in veteran stars such as Raphael Varane, Edinson Cavani and Bastian Schweinsteiger, none of whom were able to make a significant impact in the club, because of which United suffered losses amounting to tens of millions in the transfer market as well as in wages.

Ever since he gained control of football operations at United, Ratcliffe had gone on a cost-cutting spree at the club, which included toning down on free lunches for employees at Old Trafford and even ending an ambassadorial role for legendary manager Alex Ferguson.

It is therefore, highly unlikely he will be giving his thumbs up to Amorim to sign Lewandowski, who currently earns £540,000-a-week at Barcelona and isn’t likely to accept a major pay cut next year.