Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was reportedly 'taken aback' by Sir Jim Ratcliffe's decision to reduce the benefits offered to club staff. Ratcliffe, a British billionaire, became United's new controlling co-owner a year ago and officially took over in February.
He has since implemented a harsh cost-cutting regime at Old Trafford. Approximately 250 staff have been made redundant, credit card privileges have been revoked, and ambassador contracts like Sir Alex Ferguson's have been terminated.
Despite this, United has continued to invest heavily in football. Over £200million was spent in the summer transfer window, and United also had to pay compensation to Erik ten Hag and Dan Ashworth following their dismissals.
Another cost-saving measure was introduced in May before the FA Cup final against Manchester City. The club informed staff that the usual benefit of a free ticket, travel, food, and accommodation would not be provided.
Instead, staff were required to pay £20 for a coach trip to Wembley and received nothing more than the ticket. According to The Athletic, this decision left captain Fernandes 'taken aback'.
He was so surprised that he approached executives and offered to cover all the usual extras from his own pocket. However, this proposal was rejected, with the club's new leaders sticking to their plan.
Ratcliffe, who oversaw United's FA Cup triumph with Fernandes playing the entire 90 minutes, has justified his stringent cost-cutting strategy by arguing that making 'hard choices' is essential. In an interview with United We Stand magazine, he said: " Manchester United has become mediocre," and continued, "It is supposed to be one of the best football clubs in the world. We have to make some difficult and unpopular decisions."
He explained his stance on financial matters: "If you shy away from the difficult decisions, then nothing much is going to change. I know we get criticism in the press but we do need to challenge the cost of running this club because what I want to be free for us to do is buy really good footballers, not spend so much of the money on infrastructure."
Ratcliffe pointed out the consequences of a loss-making club: "We can't run a business at a loss, which is where United have been in the last couple of years. If you are losing money you have to borrow from the bank to pay for the losses. Eventually that becomes unsustainable."
Finally, Ratcliffe tackled the tricky subject of ticket pricing: "I don't want to end up in a position where the genuine local fans can't afford to come but I do want to optimise the ticketing. We need to find a balance - and you can't be popular all the time either. I don't think it makes sense for a Manchester United ticket to cost less than a ticket to see Fulham."