Man Utd staff threatened with the sack by Omar Berrada if they leak information
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has cut 250 jobs at Manchester United and is plotting a further 100 redundancies, prompting a spate of leaks to the media from unhappy members of staff
Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada has threatened to sack disaffected staff who are leaking information to the media.
The club has been rocked by changes since Sir Jim Ratcliffe took charge a year ago and embarked upon a widespread cost-cutting exercise. The petrochemicals billionaire has already made 250 redundancies and is planning a further 100, which will be announced to staff in a meeting on Monday.
He has made no apologies for what he sees as necessary business moves to turn around the “mediocre” club he inherited from the Glazer family. But the way in which the changes are being made has left many staff members unhappy and fearful they could be next.
That atmosphere, which has been described internally as a “culture of fear”, has led to much of what goes on behind the scenes at Carrington and Old Trafford becoming public knowledge via the media. For example, United were forced to confirm the departure of 30-year club employee Jackie Kay this week after her sacking was leaked 10 days earlier.
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“Anyone disclosing information outside of the club is breaching their obligations of confidentiality, and we are very clear that this will be considered gross misconduct,” Berrada’s email read. “To protect the club and its colleagues, additional measures are being put in place to prevent future breaches of confidentiality and also identify any persons responsible.”
The email also contained details of how journalists might try to contact United employees and warned they are “extremely well-versed in gathering information”. INEOS have presided over a miserable first year in control of United, with terrible performances on the pitch matched by poor decisions off it.
United are 15th in the Premier League under Ruben Amorim, who was hired in November just months after the club decided to hand Erik ten Hag a new contract. The Dutchman’s dismissal and that of short-lived sporting director Dan Ashworth cost £14.5million, their most recent accounts show.
Ratcliffe remains committed to making cuts, which he believes will help change the culture at his boyhood club. " Manchester United has become mediocre," he told the United We Stand fanzine in December.
"It is supposed to be one of the best football clubs in the world. We have to make some difficult and unpopular decisions. If you shy away from the difficult decisions, then nothing much is going to change.”
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