Paul Merson mocked Sir Jim Ratcliffe in a scathing rant after United's defeat to Fulham (Image: SKY SPORTS/GETTY)
Paul Merson did not mince his words as he took aim at Sir Jim Ratcliffe as part of a scathing rant after Manchester United were beaten at home by Fulham. Erik ten Hag's side were made to pay for another dire performance as Alex Iwobi's stoppage-time winner condemned the hosts to a 10th defeat in 26 league games this season.
The result came as a humbling blow for United just days after Ratcliffe underlined his plan for the Red Devils to overtake Manchester City and Liverpool and become English football's dominant force. Merson, speaking in his role as a pundit on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday programme, urged Ratcliffe to temper his expectations as he insisted that United were a 'million miles away' from their Premier League rivals.
"You put all that money in and you watch that today and they are a gillion miles away," said Merson. "It's not just that, the players as well. They're a gillion quid away. I don't know how they are going to catch up.
"He [Ratcliffe] is saying he wants to overtake Man City. Woah, pull it in! Focus on overtaking the others first. You're going: 'I want to overtake Man City'. Wait a minute, you've got to try and catch them, in six or seven years. No chance.
United were clearly second-best against Fulham and were made to pay for their poor display (Image: GETTY)
"They've all been polyfiller results in the last few weeks, just covering over the cracks. Only Sheffield United have got less points away from home. Jim Ratcliffe, I know he's put a lot of money in but then you hear him saying 'we're looking for Man City'. Pull it in.
"Start pulling in teams like Aston Villa first. You look at Man Utd and it's like England about 10 years ago, when I'd say they won't win a tournament in my lifetime. It's the same with United at the moment. They're a million miles away."
Merson went on to suggest that it will be many years before United are in a position to win another Premier League title, with the Arsenal icon convinced that a reset is needed in the boardroom.
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"How many years has it been now? It's a long time," he added. "They need to start from the bottom. They need to sit down this year and go: 'Right, let's wipe the floor, let's get [Dan] Ashworth in and get people he wants in and go again'. This is going to be slow, it's not going to be overnight.
"This is going to be very, very slow. If United went and won the league in the next five years, whoever the manager is should get knighted, seriously. If you can get that team to win the Premier League over 38 football matches, absolutely no chance is that team going to win the league.
"If you'd have come over from another country today and you didn't know much about football, you would have thought United were playing in white."
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