“I’m told… Roy Keane has already revealed how INEOS are betraying the culture of Manchester United

In a resurfaced article from his first autobiography, one Roy Keane quote reveals how Manchester United have betrayed their roots in recent years.

Keane, who played 480 times for the Red Devils, reflected on the importance of recognising the efforts of everyone at the club in his first autobiography ‘Keane’.

Published in 2002, Keane, the then Manchester United captain acknowledged that not only were the players at United not paid spectacularly, but they were just a part of a wider club community.

23 years later United have one of the highest weekly expenditures on salaries in world football, whilst Ineos in a bid to battle the financial issues at the club decided to cut a reported 250 members of staff in the latter half of last year.

What did Roy Keane write exactly?

Discussing how the club’s success goes far beyond the players in any given matchday squad, Keane would reflect on how it was the wider Manchester United staff list that made all the difference:

“Although United have always been relatively poor payers of player’s wages – something that I’m told goes back to Matt Busby’s days – the club has always been very good at recognising that everyone, from the ground staff and the laundry ladies, to the office staff, tea ladies and those who man the stiles on match days, is part of the Manchester United community,” Keane wrote.

Currently Manchester United have two of the highest paid players in the Premier League on their books, with Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes on a reported £350,000 and £300,000 a week respectively.

Lowering morale and worse finances

Alongside the reported staff layoffs, there has also been a series of stories coming out about the falling morale around the club.

This is after several poorly received decisions, including; the cancellation of the staff’s annual Christmas party, the reduction of their Christmas bonus, as well as a failure to offer free travel or accommodation for last season’s FA Cup final.

According to a report in The Athletic, upon hearing of the lack of travel and accommodation offered by the club for the final, Fernandes proposed personally paying for each member of staff’s trip. United rejected his offer.

There was also the recent communication from the club regarding the need to remove concession tickets for the rest of the season, with all tickets being sold at the same cost.

As the club work to avoid a break of PSR rules, Ineos have continued to try to find solutions to battle the financial woes they inherited from the Glazer family.

Manchester United have reported a net loss of over £300 million across the last three years.

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