Sir Jim Ratcliffe had spent his Sunday morning running the London Marathon, clocking a hugely impressive four-and-a-half hours at 71 years of age. But for Manchester United's minority shareholder, pounding the capital's tarmac must have felt like a breeze compared to the emotional rollercoaster he went on at Wembley Stadium later in the day.
Ratcliffe arrived at United's semi-final against Coventry City at half-time when United were 2-0 up, taking his seat next to majority owners Avram and Joel Glazer, whom he had paid £1.3 billion ($1.6bn) for the privilege of being involved in the club. He has described investing in United as the most exciting project he's been involved in, and if he wanted excitement and drama, he is sure getting it. Just not in the way he had imagined.
After seeing Bruno Fernandes put United 3-0 up, he then watched the team do what they have done throughout this season: take their hand off the steering wheel and go on a truly wild ride. They ended up with the same result as they looked to have when they were 3-0 up, a ticket back to Wembley to face Manchester City. But as all keen travellers will tell you, it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. And someone as driven as demanding as Ratcliffe will have been horrified with the way United got there.
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