Manchester United will stage a Christmas party for staff members this year after chief executive Omar Berrada reversed last year's cancellation by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
A view from inside Old Trafford.
Manchester United staff members will have a Christmas party this year.
View 2 Images
Manchester United's 2025 Christmas celebration has reportedly been approved after Sir Jim Ratcliffe axed last year's event. The United sporting leadership blocked any festive activities 12 months ago - amid a series of cost-cutting measures.
Last year, the proposed gathering was scrapped as it was considered unsuitable to celebrate following an initial wave of redundancies that saw 250 positions eliminated. The abandoned festivities saved the club over £100,000, with the traditional staff bonus of £100 being substituted with a £40 Marks and Spencer voucher.
According to new The Daily Mail reports, employees will now have the chance to mark Christmas this year, with chief executive, Omar Berrada, choosing to extend invitations to all personnel. The event will take place in one of Old Trafford's larger function rooms, with catering and live music arranged for workers.
The development follows significant reshuffling within United's leadership structure after Ineos' minority takeover. An additional 200 job losses - which reduced the club's workforce from 1,150 to 700 - generated savings of millions for the club.
In March, Ratcliffe addressed the staff reductions and substantial behind-the-scenes transformations during interviews with the BBC and Sky Sports. "I think, when you are in a period of change, it is disruptive," he said.
"It does, if you will excuse the pun, take people's eye off the ball a bit. We have got a club which was in a level of financial difficulty. Manchester United would have run out of cash by the end of this year - by the end of 2025 - after having me put $300m (£232.72m) in and if we buy no new players in the summer.
"If we hadn't have implemented the cost programmes and restructuring that we have done over the last 12 months. So we have to deal with all those things, and there's only so many things you can deal with at once.
"We have a new management team, we have to deal with the financial restructure, then we have to move on to the squad, data analysis, and moving forward.
"But we are in the process of change and it's an uncomfortable period and disruptive and I do feel sympathy with the fans. But I'm not actually surprised where we are in the league because Ruben's only got a certain size of squad he can deal with, and quite a number of those players are injured or not available to him."
Sir Jim Ratcliffe smiling on the pitch.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe secured a minority deal for Manchester United in December 2023.
View 2 Images
He added: "The simple answer is the club runs out of money at Christmas if we don't do those things [widespread cuts and restructuring]. Ultimately, if you look at running the club the size of Manchester United with an income of about £650m you spend a part of that £650m on operating the club and part of it on the squad.
"Where do you want to spend the money?
"Do you want to spend it on operating the club, or do you want to spend it on the squad? Because if you spend it on the squad you get better results.
"And at the end of the day what's Manchester United here for if it's not to win trophies and silverware. What we want to do is invest in the best players in the world if we can, rather than spend it on, I'm afraid, free lunches."