Perhaps in the world of Ineos this was a message that was lost in the ether.
But when first team performance analyst Steve Brown was made redundant after 23 years as part of a cull of 250 jobs at the club earlier this year, his message was pointed and clear.
‘I wish Manchester United all the best for the future. It has changed so much in 23 years, some good, some not so,’ part of his LinkedIn post read.
‘Don’t lose the soul of the club to save a few quid. The people who were there made it such a special place, rich with history.’
It is that penultimate sentence that came into razor sharp focus on Tuesday when it was revealed that legendary former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson would no longer continue to receive his £2.1million ambassadorial contract after this season.
Sir Alex Ferguson (middle) has seen his £2.16m-a-year ambassadorial payments terminated
Ferguson was seen with Man United’s new hierarchy at the club’s last match at Aston Villa
‘If Sir Alex can be taken out, then NO ONE IS SAFE at @ManUtd – anyone can get it now,’ former United centre back Rio Ferdinand surmised on X, formerly Twitter.
There will be those that point to the necessity in cutting 82-year-old Ferguson loose amid 250 job cuts of individuals who were far much more dependent on their earnings from the club than the Scot.
And there will be others that point to the largely insignificant amount paid to the Scot who, through the dynasty he created, helped to shape Manchester United into the commercial behemoth folk like Ineos can now benefit directly from.
What the decision around Ferguson showed is that Ratcliffe and his aides are relentless in pursuit of cutting the fat from the balance sheet.
Only last month, United posted losses for the year ending June 30, 2024, of £113.2m. Over the past two years it is a figure closer to £160m.
Ratcliffe, who as of May last year ranked second in the UK on the Sunday Times Rich List 2023 with an estimated net worth of £29.688billion, took on minority ownership of United and an audit of the club highlighted that at 1,112 as of June 30, 2023, United had by far the biggest staff of any club in the Premier League.
With the assistance of consultancy firm Interpath Advisory, who Ineos hired to discover ‘non-essential’ activities and review where crucial savings could be made, 20 per cent of the workforce was to be removed, while work from home opportunities and other employment benefits would be altered.
Ferguson was reportedly told in a face-to-face meeting the contract would be terminated
Ratcliffe and Ineos have been implementing a variety of cost-cutting measures since they took part ownership in Manchester United with a view to bringing down total losses in accounts
The various cost-cutting measures, which now include removing payments to Ferguson following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, are expected to save United between £40m and £45m in total.
Measures to slash costs include:
- Cancelled company credit cards
- Chauffeurs and private cars for executive use scrapped
- Staff were asked to cover their own expenses for 2023-24 FA Cup final
- As revealed by Mail Sport, the number of programmes given to corporate fans has been cut in half, with United pointing to waste
- Axed lunchboxes for matchday staff, again citing uneaten food as waste
- Cancelled this year’s Christmas party for staff
Ferguson, who was in attendance at Villa Park in the company of Ratcliffe and his Ineos allies for United’s last match, is said to have been left saddened to see former colleagues and friends he held dear lose jobs at United as part of the ruthless restructuring.
Performance analyst Brown, who was brought in by Ferguson in 2001, is one of a number of significant moves made by Ineos as they look to overhaul departments from top to bottom.
Even before Ratcliffe’s quarter stake in the club was confirmed it was announced that Richard Arnold, then CEO, would be bringing his 16-year stay at the club to an immediate end. Patrick Stewart, then the general counsel, took over on an interim basis before he left by ‘mutual consent’ at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Usage of private chauffeurs and company credit cards were among the first areas targeted
Patrick Stewart (far left), formerly the club’s general counsel, Head of Women’s football Polly Bancroft (second from right) and deputy football director, Andy O’Boyle (far right) have all left
Ratcliffe and Ineos recruited Omar Berrada as CEO, while Chief Financial Officer Cliff Baty, who left alongside Stewart at the end of last season, was replaced by former Ineos Sport CFO Roger Bell.
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Getting rid of Sir Alex Ferguson is a massive own goal by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, writes CHRIS WHEELER
Football director John Murtough was moved on in favour of recruiting Dan Ashworth from Newcastle United, while Ellie Norman, one of the communications leads, and Victoria Timpson, Alliances and Partnerships chief, have also departed on the non-playing side of the staff.
Ineos’ shake-up also saw Richard Merron and John Davin, two long-standing first team physios, let go, while there was no role left for deputy football director Andy O’Boyle, initially recruited by Murtough, once the restructure took hold.
On the playing side of things Steve McClaren, Mitchell van der Gaag, Benni McCarthy, Richard Hartis and Eric Ramsay have all since left the club, with Erik ten Hag refreshed with new coaches, while on the academy side of things, Neil Harris, who spent 21 years as a crucial figure in the development of the next generation, found himself caught up in the redundancies.
Many of these moves, particularly those at boardroom level, elicited little backlash following United’s below-par on pitch performance in seasons gone by.
But the ending of Ferguson’s lucrative ambassadorial contract has only drawn a line under the ruthlessness of Ineos and Ratcliffe’s decision making.
‘Don’t lose the soul of the club to save a few quid,’ Brown warned his previous employers. It seems anything and anyone can be lost as the purse strings get a touch tighter.
