Jim Ratcliffe has made clear what would force his Man Utd exit as fans plan protest

 Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already admitted he will walk away from the club if he becomes as unpopular as the Glazers. Ratcliffe bought a stake in United last year and has taken full control of football operations.

However, Ratcliffe has made a raft of unpopular decisions since taking charge, hiking ticket prices and making a number of staff redundant. United also endured their worst ever Premier League campaign last season, finishing 15th.

As a result, the 1958 supporters' group are planning a protest ahead of United's first league game against Arsenal on August 17. The group believe that Ratcliffe is "complicit in the ongoing erosion of everything that makes our club what it is".

And the Ineos chief has previously suggested he will leave the club if he starts receiving the same reception as the Glazers. "It can be unpleasant. And I've probably failed on the having fun front," he told the Times back in March.

"I can put up with it for a while. I don't mind being unpopular because I get that nobody likes seeing Manchester United down where they are, and nobody likes the decisions we're having to make.

"Eventually, if it reached the extent that the Glazer family have been abused, then I'd have to say, 'look, that's enough guys, let somebody else do this'. They can't really come to a match, the Glazers. They've retreated into the shadows a bit now, so I'm getting all the bloody stick.

"We bought in and I haven't seen them since. It's 'Thank you, Jim, you're doing a really good job'. At the moment, I don't have to walk around like that. But it would defeat the object, wouldn't it? You couldn't tolerate it at that level, it just wouldn't be fun."

The 1958 will lead a protest outside Old Trafford before United's clash against Arsenal and are planning to display banners in opposition to both Ratcliffe and the Glazers, with one read: "Jim can't fix this".

A spokesman for the group said: "It's a new season but the same old ownership issues. Twenty years of the Glazers and their debt mountain is 20 years too long. Enough is enough.

"We won't allow some natural optimism and a couple of shiny new signings to deflect from the bigger off-field picture. Jim Ratcliffe chose to get into bed with the Glazers and in our opinion is helping keep them in charge.

"So on 17th August, we protest not just against the Glazers, but now also against Jim Ratcliffe – a man once seen by many, including ourselves, as a possible saviour, a beacon of hope but now revealed as complicit in the ongoing erosion of everything that makes our club what it is.

Jim Ratcliffe, you have chosen your side and it is not ours. You now stand shoulder to shoulder with the Glazers. The mask has slipped. You are no saviour. You’re like a (red) devil in disguise."