Inside Man United Women's year from hell: Star players flee, Sir Jim Ratcliffe irks fans with 'disrespectful' comments and Mason Greenwood saga causes social media pile-on

Manchester United Women have had the week from hell, and it caps a chaotic year at the club that has only been made worse by the arrival of INEOS.

If United’s new owners were to undertake a 12-month review of the women’s team, it may read something like this:

- Lost Alessia Russo on a free transfer to a WSL rival, despite spending over a year trying to negotiate with her to stay.

- Dragged their female players into the Mason Greenwood debacle, leading to England’s World Cup stars receiving abuse on social media on the eve of their quarter-final due to reports claiming they would play a significant role in whether he would return to the club.

- Spent the first three months of the season without an assistant manager.

- Lost prominent coach Luke Wright and head physiotherapist Ibrahim Kerem to the men’s set-up.

- Saw their head of women’s football, Polly Bancroft, leave to join League 2 club Grimsby Town.

- Let their players find out their end-of-season awards night had been cancelled through the media.

- Despite winning the FA Cup, United ended the season in fifth place - their worst ever finish to a WSL season.

- Sir Jim Ratcliffe said plans for the women’s team are ‘TBC’ in an interview with Bloomberg.

- Mary Earps decided to leave after failing to be convinced by the club’s long-term ambitions.

- Reports emerged that the women’s team will be moved out of their new £10million facility to accommodate the men while work is completed at Carrington during the 2024-2025 season.

- Katie Zelem, their captain, decides not to sign a new contract.

In the last year we have seen the good, the bad and the ugly at United and. The above points only emphasise the latter.

United will point to the fact they won their first major trophy, the FA Cup, last season. They would also argue that opening a new multi-million facility for the women’s team shows progress - even if they are going to be booted out for the next year. INEOS would also point out that they were not in charge of the football operations until much of the damage had been done.

But instead of their arrival making things better, the women’s team has been plunged further into chaos.

The truth is it has been a damning week for United and sources close to the club have told Mail Sport the situation is a ‘mess’.

Multiple agents have indicated they will avoid taking their players to the club at the present time, with one source calling their organisation as a ‘s*** show’.

The week started badly when comments made by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in an interview with Bloomberg were brought to light.

Ratcliffe had been asked what he would be doing with the women’s team going forward. ‘Well, they’ve just won the FA Cup,’ Ratcliffe replied.

The 71-year-old, of course, decided not to attend that game in favour of watching the men’s match with Arsenal at Old Trafford. His response did not really answer the question posed so he was pushed further on what the future would look like and whether United would seek outside investors.

Ratcliffe said: ‘We haven't really got into that level of detail with the women's football team yet.

‘We've been pretty much focused on how do we resolve the first team issues, certainly in that environment. That’s been pretty full-time for the first six months.’

Asked whether the plans were still ‘tbc’, Ratcliffe replied: ‘Correct.’

Ratcliffe’s use of the term ‘first team’ to describe the men did not go down well with the club’s supporters, with many labelling it as disrespectful. Mail Sport understands his comments did not land well inside the club either.

Equally, his decision to confirm plans were still ‘tbc’, rather than giving a stock answer of something along the lines of ‘we’re working hard in the background’ was puzzling.

Ratcliffe’s comments showed a clear disinterest in the women’s team. He is not the only owner of a football club who thinks in this way, but he is currently the only one showing his cards publicly.

Some may argue that there is something to be said for honesty, but his comments were not what supporters wanted to hear.

The week has got progressively worse for United. On Tuesday, it became clear that, after a year of speculation, Mary Earps will leave the club on a free transfer.

It is understood Earps was keen on a move away from United last season but the club insisted she was not for sale at any price and rejected a significant bid from Arsenal.

United insisted they made the goalkeeper a strong offer, but it all feels a bit like groundhog day. Twelve months ago, United found themselves in the same situation with Alessia Russo.

The club rejected a then world record bid from Arsenal in January, only to lose her on a free transfer at the end of the season. The club maintained at the time that they had made her a very good offer, which would have seen her become the highest-paid player in the club’s history, but it all came too late.

From a commercial point of view, losing Earps will hit United hard. The two-time FIFA Best winner is one of the most popular players in the England team. While it is not ideal from a football point of view either, United do have capable back-up options. But there is no getting away from the fact Earps was a key part of the dressing room and one of the club’s leaders on and off the pitch.

They say things come in threes and United’s disastrous week was rounded off when the Guardian reported that the women’s team would be moved into portable cabins at the club’s Carrington training base to allow the men’s side to use their building while their indoor facilities are being upgraded.

United announced on June 14 that all areas of the men’s site were ‘being refurbished to deliver a world-class football ­facility with a positive culture to support future success’ as part of a £50million investment.

The club considered temporarily relocating teams to an alternative facility to ease pressure at Carrington, but this was ruled out due to performance reasons. The women’s team will use the same pitches and nutrition facilities as before, while temporary buildings will house changing rooms, communal areas and team meeting rooms.

The club believe the scale and ambition of the project will deliver huge long-term benefits for all their teams and the work is necessary to restore Carrington to a world-class training facility. But it is undeniable that the women’s team will lose out in the short-term and, once again, infers they are not seen as a priority at the club.

With that in mind, it is not surprising that more players have since left the club, while more could follow. Mail Sport reported that Lucia Garcia has left, with her departure confirmed on Wednesday. United have also lost their captain, Katie Zelem, after the midfielder decided not to sign a new contract. Nikita Parris could also follow both players out of the door.

United may trigger an option to extend Parris’ contract by an extra year, as they have previously done with other players. Parris turned down the chance to leave the club for a lucrative move to the United States in April, instead prioritising the club’s participation in the FA Cup final.

United are one of the only clubs not to have published a released and retained list of players following the conclusion of the 2023-2024 season.

The club opted to give manager Marc Skinner a new one-year contract at the end of the season.

Skinner had previously led United to their best ever finish in a WSL season during the 2022-2023 campaign, missing out on the title by two points, but endured a testing campaign last term - with sections of the fanbase repeatedly calling for him to be sacked due to the club’s poor league form. He did deliver the club’s first piece of silverware, but it is understood he signed his new deal before United beat Tottenham 4-0 at Wembley.

Mail Sport understands the decision to give Skinner a new contract was not popular with some members of the squad.

The United boss may find himself with a significant rebuilding job going into the new season. The club are not expected to spend big and are likely to look for free transfers. Elisabeth Terland, who scored 13 goals for Brighton last season and is out of contract, could be their first signing of the summer.

It was widely known last summer that United’s handling of contract negotiations and transfers were chaotic, with several different members of staff involved.

Sam Barnett, who has now departed the club, was drafted in to help United’s former head of women’s football Polly Bancroft last summer.

Transfer negotiator Matt Hargreaves and women’s player recruitment lead Harvey Bussell were also said to have been involved in discussions with agents and players.

Mail Sport exclusively revealed that Bancroft would be leaving the club and that Johnson would be placed in interim charge at the end of the season.

Johnson, who is highly thought of, was previously director of operations at the Manchester United Foundation and performance director for the girls’ talent club. He is set to be in his role for an initial six-month period.

There is some hope that the appointment of Omar Berrada as the club’s new chief executive will bring some organisation and direction behind the scenes.

Berrada, who will officially start next month, joins from rivals City where he has overseen the successful development of the club’s women’s team.

He is understood to be passionate about the growth of women’s football, with the 46-year-old having served on the FA’s Women’s Super League board during his time with City.

The fear is that United are already playing catch up with other clubs. How much influence Berrada will have on the women’s set-up remains to be seen. With Ratcliffe having made clear they are not the priority, the future remains ‘tbc’.