Three Man Utd club legends latest to ‘feel the pinch’ of INEOS, Ratcliffe cuts

Joe Williams
Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS took control of football operations last year

Man Utd legends Bryan Robson, Andy Cole and Denis Irwin are the latest trio to be impacted by INEOS’ cuts at Old Trafford, according to reports.

It was revealed in November that the Red Devils had made the decision to end ‘a multi-million pound annual commitment’ to Sir Alex Ferguson in their latest cost-cutting measure.

The Scot won 38 trophies at Man Utd during a managerial reign spanning nearly 27 years, including 13 Premier League titles and two European Cups.

INEOS and Ratcliffe are working to put the club on a more sustainable financial footing and have instigated a number of cost-saving measures, including a redundancy programme which cut 250 jobs from headcount across all departments by the end of August.

After chasing Dan Ashworth over the summer in an expensive operation, Man Utd announced in December that the former Newcastle sporting director has now left the club.

Ratcliffe is not just struggling to convince people of his ability in off-field matters but also decisions, such as keeping Erik ten Hag on in the summer, which have seen Man Utd drop to 13th in the Premier League on the pitch.

And now talkSPORT chief football correspondent Alex Crook insists that Man Utd legends Cole, Irwin and Robson are ‘among latest to feel the pinch of INEOS cost cuts’.

The report claims that Man Utd have ‘told club ambassadors, including legendary captain Bryan Robson they will have their salaries slashed in the latest round of cost-cutting – a move driven by new minority owner Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS’.

TalkSPORT reporter Crook adds:

‘TalkSPORT has been told the fee for matchday ambassadorial duties can range from £500 to £1,000 and many of the ex-players involved rely on the money, having missed out on big wages in their playing days.

‘Sources close to United declined to comment on contractual arrangements with their ambassadors and legends.’

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A frustrated Paul Scholes recently questioned if the new co-owners have done anything positive since they took control of football operations last year.

Scholes said on The Overlap: “They have been in charge [of Manchester United] for nearly a year now and everything is still negative. I can’t think of something positive that they’ve done for the football club.

“Things are getting worse on the football pitch so couldn’t they have just said that they’d do cheaper tickets – couldn’t they just give us something positive. How can you ask Manchester United fans to pay more money with what’s on the football pitch.

“£66 for a ticket is ridiculous. If you think of Manchester, there are so many deprived areas and Sir Jim Ratcliffe himself is from Failsworth – which is a deprived area. If you take one kid with you, that’s £120, if you take a family, you’re looking at £300-400 – it’s not right.

“Where do these owners get the front to put ticket prices up? For the value – we’re probably having our worst ever Premier League season and they’ve got the cheek to put the prices up.”