Man Utd co-owner Ratcliffe ‘limits lunches’ to ‘soup and sandwich basics’ as new ‘cut’ saves ‘£8k’

Lewis Oldham
Man Utd duo Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford at a Premier League match.

A new report has revealed a couple more cuts sanctioned by Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is coming under increased scrutiny.

Ratcliffe‘s takeover was met with overwhelming positivity as his arrival took control away from the unpopular Glazer family.

The INEOS chief initially only purchased a 27% stake in the Premier League giants but took control of footballing matters at Old Trafford.

In recent months, Ratcliffe has upped his stake to around 29% and he is expected to eventually become Man Utd‘s majority shareholder.

This takeover provided a much-needed fresh start for the Red Devils, but Ratcliffe has quickly become a hated figure at Old Trafford.

He and his new-look recruitment team have made several brutal cuts to spending as part of a huge cost-cutting programme and some measures are unnecessary. There have been mass redundancies, cuts to Christmas spending and benefits to club legends and ticket prices have been hiked.

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This has been done to boost Man Utd’s budget as a massive rebuild – despite them sitting second in our net spend table – is required on the pitch, while Ratcliffe is also keen to build a new stadium/renovate Old Trafford.

Ratcliffe is also under scrutiny for the poor handling of Dan Ashworth and Erik ten Hag’s exits and their questionable transfer business in recent windows as they look over their shoulders in the Premier League table.

Man Utd’s cost-cutting is still ongoing and a report from The Sun claims ‘lunches have been reduced to basics’ for everyone except the first team, while another measure has saved the club around ‘£8,000’.

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The report explains:

‘Over 250 staff members have been axed, with many more set to follow in the coming weeks and months.

‘Ratcliffe also cancelled the club’s annual Christmas party, raised ticket prices and cut funding for a charity helping former players.

‘And his latest attempt to save money has seen him limit the lunch options in the training ground canteen to just soup and sandwiches for everybody except first-team players.

‘Furthermore, Man Utd U18s were denied the chance to play at Old Trafford in the FA Youth Cup fifth round.

‘Traditionally, the match would have been staged at United’s main home, but instead it was played at the 12,000-capacity Leigh Sports Village, saving the club a total of £8,000.’