Updated 17 June 2025 at 13:11 IST
Manchester United players look dejected after the UEFA Europa League final. | Image:
AP
The decline of Manchester United as a competent Premier League title challenger continued in the 2024-25 season as the club finished 15th – their lowest since the 1973-74 season, which is a season they got relegated from the top flight. To make things worse, any chance they had at a backdoor entry into the UEFA Champions League went when they lost the UEFA Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
It means there is a lot of pressure on minority owner Jim Ratcliffe as well as manager Ruben Amorim, the person handpicked by the current regime to make the club competitive again.
However, the club are not backing down from a publicly stated aim of becoming champions of England by 2028.
Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada has stated that many may see it as impossible but they are aiming for it regardless.
“It’s establishing a series of targets within a timeframe so we can focus our efforts and energy on that goal. Can the team win the Premier League title by 2028? Of course. We’ve just finished 15th and it seems an impossible task. But why not aim for it? Why not do everything in our power,” he told United We Stand.
The reason the year 2028 is important to United is because it marks the club’s 150th anniversary – they were founded as Newton Heath in 1878 before becoming popular under their current name.
Whether the club can actually meet their target is a different matter, especially when one considers that they want both their men’s and women’s team to lift the domestic title.
The women’s team is not as competitive as other sides in the division and will face an uphill task overhauling a Chelsea side that have been the standard bearers for years now.
And in the men’s side, the competitive nature of the league with multiple clubs now in good positions makes even a top 4 finish a challenge – never mind winning the league altogether.
Published 17 June 2025 at 13:11 IST