Full timeline of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Manchester United cost-cutting as £23billion tycoon ends charity donations to ex-stars

Sir Jim Ratcliffe was seen as Manchester United’s saviour when he purchased a 27.7 per cent stake in the Red Devils for over £1.3 billion last February – but after his latest wave of penny-pinching measures, fans have begun to turn on the ‘Scrooge’ billionaire. 

The British entrepreneur sold Manchester United fans a dream, recalling his own youth as a fan of the club and stating his ambition to restore it to its former glory.

However, almost one year on from his entrance into the Old Trafford boardroom, things seem to have gone from bad to worse, both on and off the pitch. 

On the pitch, United once again missed out on Champions League qualification at the end of last season, and after a dismal start to the current campaign, manager Erik ten Hag was shown the door.

New appointment Ruben Amorim has not yet been able to halt the decline into mid-table obscurity, as the Red Devils currently languish in 14th place in the Premier League table.

It is perhaps affairs off the pitch though which have drawn the most ire from the Old Trafford faithful, with Ratcliffe and his football operations team embarking on a cost-cutting spree which has impacted seemingly everywhere except the first-team dressing room.

Now, in the latest miserly reappropriation of funds, Ratcliffe and his team have decided to cancel a long-standing annual £40,000 donation to a charity which helps support former club legends.

It is just the tip of the iceberg in a long-line of parsimonious decision making under Ratcliffe’s stewardship, with the MailSport chronicling the businessman’s Scrooge-like escapades below. 

Mass redunancies (July 2024):

In July, MailSport exclusively revealed Ratcliffe’s plans to make almost a quarter of the club’s workforce redundant.

Following Ratcliffe and INEOS’s purchase of a quarter stake in the underperforming Premier League giants, a wide-scale cost review was commissioned.

It subsequently recommended that cuts should be made across all departments, with up to 250 staff of the club’s 1,100-strong workforce losing their jobs. 

It was reported at the time that Ratcliffe and his football oeprations side wanted to enact the series of mass redundancies so that the money saved could be diverted into the club’s transfer budget.

Compliance with the Premier League’s controversial Profit and Sustainability (PSR) rules was also understood to have played a part. 

At 1,112 as of June 30 last year, United had by far the biggest staff of any club in the Premier League. 

That number is considerably higher than all of their Big Six rivals, with Liverpool having around 1,005 employees, Chelsea 788, Tottenham 719, Arsenal 649 and Manchester City 520, according to each club’s latest figures.

The internal view amongst the club’s hierarchy was also that the size of the workforce did not reflect where the club was on the pitch.

Bizarre matchday cuts (August, 2024):

In another MailSport exclusive from last August, it was revealed that as part of Ratcliffe’s far-reaching penny-pinching measures, a number of matchday areas were set to be slashed. 

The club’s army of agency staff were previously given a lunchbox, which included a sandwich, cereal bar, bag of crisps and soft drink. 

However, many were dismayed to find the offering had vanished at United’s first match of the season against Fulham.

Some staff told that they were instead offered leftovers from the food supplied to corporate punters. 

United said that while some of the food offered was the same as that served to fans, they insisted that it was not left overs and that extra quantities were being made for staff. 

Some workers even claimed that they were being forced to eat in a toilet. ‘They’ve set up a dining table next to four toilet cubicles,’ said one. ‘You come out of the cubicle and someone is sat in right front of you, eating.’ 

Matchday programme spending has also reportedly been rowed back on, with Old Trafford’s corporate sweets, which cost thousands per game, only being given five programmes despite the boxes fitting ten fans.

United said at the time that they were providing half the capacity of boxes with programmes and had acted after identifying wastage, with many of the magazines found in bins following games. 

Ending Sir Alex Ferguson’s contract and scrapping club Christmas party (October, 2024):

Sir Alex Ferguson became the most high-profile victim of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ruthless cost-cutting at Manchester Unitedafter the club’s legendary manager lost his £2million-a-year contract as a global ambassador in October.

Ratcliffe informed Ferguson of his decision in a face-to-face meeting at Old Trafford, bringing to an end his 38 years as a paid employee at United after this season.

Sources insisted the meeting was entirely amicable and that 82-year-old Ferguson, who will keep his title as a non-executive director, will remain a close friend of the club.

The most successful manager in United’s history had maintained close ties with the club since his retirement from the dugout in May 2013 after subsequently signing a deal worth £2.16m-a-year to be a global ambassador. 

For the last 11-and-a-half years, Ferguson’s duties have included representing United all over the world, as well as match-day hospitality with the club’s partners and sponsors at Old Trafford, and appearing on promotional videos.

He has often been seen sitting next to Ratcliffe in the directors’ box and chatting with the Ineos owner since his acquisition of his 27.7 per cent stake.

For the time being at least, Ferguson is expected to retain his place on the club’s football board, a largely honorary body.

As a result of the wholesale cost-cutting measures and given the optics of having recently laid off so many staff, the decision to cancel the club’s annual Christmas party was also taken in December. 

Raising ticket prices (November, 2024):

In November, it was announced that Manchester United would be raising the price of matchday tickets and scrapping concessionary benefits for OAPs and children

Prior to United’s home game against Everton in November, their first since the sharing of the new ticket pricing details, fans turned out in their hundreds outside Old Trafford to protest against the club’s decision to raise ticket prices to £66 per game.

In front of the Trinity Statue, United fans held onto a ‘Stop Exploiting Loyalty’ banner, with chants against Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazers, accusing them of being ‘touts’ and ‘taking the p***’.

In the hugely controversial move, prices which had started at £40 for adults and £25 for children, have been reclassified to the highest category, A, regardless of where they are located in Old Trafford. 

United said that only three per cent of supporters would be affected as 97 per cent of tickets for all remaining matches have already been sold this season.

Club officials were also adamant that nothing has yet been decided for next season. 

However, the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST) hit out at the club for providing ‘zero consultation’ over the staggering hike.

The MUST also claimed they were being asked to pay for the mistakes of majority owners the Glazer family and branded the move as an ‘offensive’ act. 

Considering halving funding for disabled fans (November 2024):

In yet another MailSport exclusive, Jim Ratfcliffe’s deliberation over cutting the budget they hand to their disabled supporters’ association was revealed.

Mail Sport understands that, as part of a wide range of cost-saving measures, the £40,000-a-year given to MUDSA has been targeted.

While no final decision is thought to have been made, United are reluctantly considering what will no doubt prove to be a highly controversial move.

Many may have assumed that the MUDSA, which was one of the first official disabled supporters’ clubs in the country, would have been immune from the sweeping cuts imposed by Ratcliffe’s football operations team, although that assumption now appears to be incorrect.

One insider, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘This is nothing short of a disgrace. The figures they are talking about are a drop in the ocean and the optics would be horrific. It feels like the club has lost touch with its soul. 

‘The disabled supporters’ club has always been a big part of Manchester United and when you see how much money is being wasted on paying off managers and bringing in players who aren’t good enough, something like this will be very difficult to justify’. 

Funds donated from the club to MUDSA go towards a variety of areas. Some are spent on subsidising tickets to annual events, which include a Christmas Party which is hugely popular with members. Traditionally, the club’s first team squad attend, pose for pictures and give autographs.

Other events include a bowling day where trophies and medals are provided to children who take part while MUDSA also hosts a popular annual dinner at Old Trafford. 

Cutting charity donations (December 2024):

In the latest cost-cutting measure employed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Manchester United have reportedly cancelled a charity donation for club legends, according to the Sun.

United donated £40,000 each year to the not-for-profit set up to help former players – but there are now thought to be fears it will cease to exist.

The Association of Former Manchester United Players was founded in 1985 to support players who did not make the mouthwatering salaries of the modern era.

Red Devils legends such as Bryan Robson, Brian Kidd and Denis Irwin are among the 300 former players the charity supports.

Trustee Jim Elms played for United’s youth side and reserves and he has slammed the latest cut.

The 84-year-old told the outlet: ‘We sent a letter to say we’ve not been paid. Nobody came out and told us so we had to send another letter.

‘That’s when we started hearing things that it was going to be the end of us’.

Elms also held a phone call with United’s chief executive Omar Berrada, and added: ‘It didn’t go too well. Omar was non-committal. He’s going to meet us again in January but he said he couldn’t see it changing.

‘He didn’t seem to think that we were a necessity’.

Following a dismal Boxing Day showing at Wolverhampton in which United fell to a fifth defeat in ten games under new manager Ruben Amorim, the news of further cuts looks set to only further enrage fans.

Many have taken to social media to vent their frustrations with Ratcliffe’s plans, with one writing: ‘Ratcliffe needs to leave the club before the Glazers. He is clueless and since he has come in, the club has been worse than it ever was before’.

Another wrote: ‘It seems Jim Ratcliffe is trying to be the Michael Caine of Manchester United, playing the role of Ebenezer Scrooge while being surrounded by a bunch of muppets’.

United return to action on Monday night with another daunting encounter as they play host to Eddie Howe’s Champions League-chasing Newcastle.