Sir Jim Ratcliffe's second brutal decision angers Man Utd staff after Sir Alex Ferguson axe
Manchester United's latest cost-saving measure will be to cancel the staff Christmas party after Sir Jim Ratcliffe took decision to end Sir Alex Ferguson's £2.16m-per-year ambassador deal
by Alan Smith · The MirrorManchester United's Christmas party has been axed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the INEOS chief's latest unpopular move - with staff morale reportedly at an all-time low.
On Tuesday it was revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson's ambassador role - worth £2.16m a year - was being culled after United decided to make 250 redundancies across the business earlier this year.
They also denied staff free travel to last season's FA Cup final as the INEOS part-owners, who completed a 25 per cent purchase of the club last December, began a root and branch review of the club's structure.
And now their festive shindig has been binned as part of the latest cost-cutting measure from a club that spent £180m on new players in the summer.
Initially reported by The Athletic, Ferguson is understood to have accepted the decision to have his role cut amicably following a face-to-face meeting with Ratcliffe. There is no acrimony between them and the 82-year-old will always be welcome at Old Trafford.
Ferguson retired as manager in 2013 after 26 trophy-laden years and has held the ambassadorial role since.
United return to action against Brentford on Saturday with head coach Erik ten Hag under severe pressure. They sit in the bottom half of the Premier League having taken just eight points from their first seven fixtures games and only newly promoted Southampton have scored fewer goals.
United’s board met last week with Ten Hag’s future understood to be among the topics up for discussion. He remains safe for now - though patience could quickly run out if results don’t improve quickly.
Ten Hag is taking a brief holiday early in the international break and believes he retains the backing of United’s board. Tuesday’s meeting had already been scheduled with Sir Jim Ratcliffe keen on hosting a monthly get together.
After the bore draw away to Aston Villa nine days ago, Ten Hag said: “We are all on board together, on one page, we know what we are working through. It’s a long-term process.
“It’s external noise. Internally we’re disappointed and we know we have to do better. Especially we need to score more. But I don’t have any idea it is different, because they would tell me. We communicate and are very transparent.”
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