Sir Jim Ratcliffe reveals full details of “grumpy” conversation after cutting Sir Alex Ferguson’s Man Utd contract

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has revealed the full details of his conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson before he lost a £2 million-per-year ambassadorial role at Manchester United.

Manchester United’s most legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson took a step back from the club when he agreed to terminate his ambassadorial role in October last year.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made many unpopular decisions since taking control at Old Trafford and this may have been the most high-profile one.

Ferguson, 83, had a contract worth £2,000,000 per year with the club and Ratcliffe admitted that the iconic Scotsman was initially “grumpy” when he discussed cutting his job role.

The INEOS-led team have also trimmed the overall workforce at the club by over 250 staff members, with another 100-200 redundancies expected to be made soon.

Ratcliffe reveals grumpy Sir Alex conversation

Ratcliffe spoke to the media this week about his first year in charge of United, which has involved plenty of scrutiny.

One of the topics he discussed was the termination of Ferguson’s ambassadorial role last year and he detailed the conversation he had with the 13-time Premier League champion beforehand.

He told the BBC: “I take my hat off to Alex. I sat down with Alex, just the two of us in the room, and I said, ‘Look, the club isn’t where you may think it is. It is spending more than it’s earning and we’re going to finish up in some difficulties. Honestly, we can’t really afford to continue to pay you £2 million a year’.

“I said I’m going to, ‘Leave it with you, let you have a think about it’. It was very grown up. Maybe a little bit grumpy at the beginning but he got it, and he came back three days later, after talking to his son, and said, ‘Fine, I’m going to step away from it. My decision’. I think it reflects really well on Alex, because he put the club before himself.”

Ratcliffe’s staggering comments on United’s finances

Ratcliffe’s comments on the club this week have been staggering, especially in terms of the financial side of the business.

Read More: Sir Jim Ratcliffe delivers clear Marcus Rashford verdict after Ruben Amorim loan decision

“Manchester United would have run out of cash by the end of this year – by the end of 2025,” he staggeringly revealed.

“We are in the process of change and it’s an uncomfortable period and disruptive and I do feel sympathy with the fans.

“The simple answer is the club runs out of money at Christmas if we don’t do those things.”

Despite that, the United co-owner said he is “unequivocal” in his backing of head coach Ruben Amorim ahead of the summer transfer window.

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