SIR JIM RATCLIFFE has been caught in a blunder after allegedly asking the Manchester United women’s captain, “What do you do here?”
The club minority owner was taken on a tour of the women’s facilities and encountered their former captain, Katie Zelem.
Ratcliffe, 72, met Zelem at Carrington soon after investing in the Red Devils.
Like Ratcliffe, the midfielder was born in Failsworth near Oldham and had been at the club since the age of 8.
The Telegraph have now claimed that the billionaire was unsure of who the ace was and was unaware of her role during the tour.
The report suggests that he even asked the midfielder what she did at the club during the tour.
Zelem, 29, left Manchester United last summer and joined Los Angeles based side Angel City.
She had made 161 appearances for the Red Devils during her time with the club.
Zelem has also earned 12 caps for the Lionesses since 2021.
She did leave the club between 2013 and 2018 for spells at Liverpool and Juventus.
It comes against a backdrop of Ratcliffe being criticised for lacking interest in the woman’s side of the club.
Last May he opted to watch the men’s team face Arsenal at Old Trafford instead of the Women’s FA Cup final victory over Tottenham.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Inside Marcus Rashford’s demise from one of football’s biggest stars to £60m benchwarmer” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6368070098112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]They won the final 4-0 at Wembley Stadium to lift the FA Cup for the very first time.
He was criticised for his apparent lack of interest and calling the men’s team the “first team”.
England star Mary Earps appeared to take a swipe at Ratcliffe when she left the club last summer.
The axing of Dan Ashworth was also seen as a blow as the sporting director was said to be “passionate” about the women’s team.
It has also been claimed that Ratcliffe did not speak to Ashworth about the women’s team even once before his sacking.