Manchester United new part-owners INEOS has continued its cost-cutting programme by ending a multi-million pound annual commitment to Sir Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in the club’s history.
Following his exit as manager in 2013, bringing an end to a 26-year reign in which he won 38 trophies, Ferguson has been retained as a global club ambassador and club director and remunerated with an annual salary.
The only official description of Ferguson’s services as an ambassador to the club can be seen in their 2014 accounts under the related party transactions section, where United said the Scot signed an agreement on October 17, 2013, in which he became a global ambassador and received £2.16million ($2.82m) for his services, an arrangement that continued for over a decade.
Ferguson has remained a United director on the club’s football board, which has appeared to be a largely ceremonial construct for quite some time. It has previously featured Sir Bobby Charlton (before he passed away in 2023), as well as former chief executive David Gill and non-executive director Michael Edelson. Ferguson is not a member of the club’s official board — which includes the six Glazer siblings, as well as INEOS co-owner John Reece and INEOS Sport’s chairman Rob Nevin, in addition to two independent directors Robert Leitao and John Hooks.
Ferguson is still a regular attendee at United games (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
INEOS has been exhausting all avenues to reduce costs and that led it to zoom in on the club’s commitment to Ferguson, aged 82, who is still a regular attendee of games in the directors’ box both at home and away matches.
But now, in a face-to-face meeting at Old Trafford, INEOS founder and CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe told Ferguson that the club are seeking to reduce costs and are no longer prepared to sustain his payments. United sources — who, like all in this piece, spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the subject — said that the matter has been dealt with amicably and he will remain a non-executive director at the club and be welcome to attend games.
The club’s majority owner, the Glazer family, has previously been satisfied to sanction the payments to Ferguson. According to sources familiar with the thinking of Joel and Avram Glazer, the most prominent of the siblings at United, they believe much of the value that the club continues to generate is owed to Ferguson’s work and legacy, and therefore they did not begrudge him a handsome settlement following his retirement. Ferguson has also never joined the chorus of former United employees who have publicly criticised the Glazer family’s management of the club.
Ferguson, who allies say has been saddened to see former colleagues and friends lose jobs at Old Trafford during wide-ranging job cuts, will not be receiving payments from United beyond the end of this season.
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Ratcliffe has been determined to cut expenditure at Old Trafford since acquiring a 27.7 per cent stake in Manchester United in February. The 71-year-old Brit initially secured control of the club’s football operations but that was broadened to wider business and operational control following further talks with the Glazer family, who retain majority ownership of the club. Since then, Ratcliffe’s team informed United staff in July that the club intended to slash 250 jobs, as part of a series of cost-cutting measures recommended by consultancy firm Interpath Advisory, which was hired to review the club’s business and operational outgoings.
There has also been the removal of club credit cards from senior executives, the removal of free travel for staff to May’s FA Cup final against Manchester City, and the cancellation of the United employee Christmas party. In the meantime, United were the Premier League’s second-highest spenders in the transfer market this summer, committing over £200m on transfers but finding themselves 14th in the Premier League in early October.
Ferguson is the most successful manager in United’s history (Ben Radford/Corbis via Getty Images)
United’s financial situation may be further squeezed if matters do not improve for Erik ten Hag, the club’s under-fire manager, as a hefty settlement will be required if he is relieved of his duties in the coming weeks. In the club’s most recent set of accounts, United said they expect to “realize annualized cost savings of approximately £40m to £45m, before implementation costs of £10m.” The club added: “Due to timing and other contractual obligations, the club expects to realize these savings over fiscal years 2025 and 2026.”
When Ratcliffe watched his first United game in person after agreeing a deal to buy his stake — the 2-2 Premier League draw against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford — he sat next to Ferguson in the club’s directors’ box.
“He was the first person I met when I went up there which I think was the second week of January and I had a meeting from 9am to 10am at his house and I left at 1pm,” Ratcliffe said about Ferguson in February. “He never stopped. He’s got a lot of experience, a lot of stories to tell and a lot of thoughts about the club.
“I don’t think he has been encouraged to get involved but he is still very thoughtful about the club and he has an immense amount of experience. He really understands the values and traditions of the club and what it’s all about. He’s still fiercely competitive, Alex Ferguson.”
Ferguson is one of a number of prominent individuals linked to United who fulfil roles of an ambassadorial nature.
Bryan Robson, the former Manchester United captain, is currently climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with the club’s charitable arm as part of his work with the club, while former striker Andy Cole is also listed as a United ambassador on his Instagram page.
It is not known whether the INEOS cuts will impact other ambassadors but The Athletic has been told of former players working with the club having concerns for their own futures after noticing cut backs such as the removal of credit cards and chauffeur-driven cars and the loss of jobs elsewhere in the business.
Manchester United and representatives of Sir Alex Ferguson have been approached for comment.
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(Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
