Last month, Sir Jim Ratcliffe was at the centre of major controversy when he decided to use an interview with Sky News as an opportunity to offer his thoughts on immigration in the United Kingdom.
Ratcliffe, who has lived in Monaco since 2020, claimed that the UK had become ‘colonised' by immigrants and suggested that the population in the country had risen by 12 million since 2020, figures that are at complete odds with official data.
In the weeks following Ratcliffe's comments, Man Utd fans have made their feelings clear on their co-owner's comments, and on Sunday, the loudest message yet was sent from Old Trafford.
Man Utd fans unveil pro-immigration flag
During the match between Man Utd and Crystal Palace on Sunday, 1 March, a flag was unveiled just above the tunnel where the Stretford End meets the South Stand.
The flag, which was clearly in response to Ratcliffe's comments, read: ‘MUFC proudly colonised by immigrants' alongside the faces of some of the best overseas players who have represented the club over the years, including Eric Cantona and current captain Bruno Fernandes.
The Stretford End flag isn't the first time that supporters have used visual means to get across their dissatisfaction with their co-owner's comments. A couple of weeks ago, fans paid for a billboard outside Old Trafford that read, ‘Immigrants have done more for this city than billionaire tax dodgers ever will'.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said at the time that the comments ‘went against everything for which Manchester has traditionally stood' and that criticism should be aimed at those who have ‘spent years siphoning out of one of our proudest institutions.'
Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, has hit out witha SCATHING statement on Sir Jim Ratcliffe following his immigration comments 😬 pic.twitter.com/MySMdUzH3s
— UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) February 12, 2026
If local reports are anything to go by, then sections of the Man Utd dressing room will have appreciated the pro-immigration message, too. There have been murmurs that a lot of the overseas Man Utd players were dumbfounded by Ratcliffe's comments.
FGG says: A story that won't go away
Sir Jim Ratcliffe was not just guilty of making up inaccurate figures about immigration, but also of making Michael Carrick's job harder as Man Utd boss. The fans are well within their rights to be angry at the club's co-owner here, and it's a story that is worth keeping an eye on in the months ahead.