Sir Alex Ferguson's 'grumpy' reaction to Sir Jim Ratcliffe decision speaks volumes
Even Sir Alex Ferguson hasn't been able to escape Sir Jim Ratcliffe's cost-cutting at Manchester United, with the former manager seeing his £2million-a-year ambassadorial contract terminated
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has hailed Sir Alex Ferguson for agreeing to end his £2million-a-year deal with Manchester United - even if he was 'grumpy' to be told about it.
Ferguson, who managed the Red Devils for 27 trophy-laden years, has been an ambassador for the club during his retirement. But with United losing huge sums of money in recent times, part-owner Ratcliffe informed the legendary ex-manager that they couldn't afford to keep paying him.
That led to a face-to-face meeting between the pair last year, with reports saying that it was Ratcliffe who made the call - although the Manchester-born billionaire insists that it was ultimately Ferguson's. "I take my hat off to Alex," Ratcliffe explained when asked about the decision.
"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 £2million a year'.
READ MORE: Sir Jim Ratcliffe sets timescale for Man Utd to move into 'world's most iconic stadium'READ MORE: Sir Jim Ratcliffe gives backing to Ruben Amorim despite Man Utd woe - 'He's doing a great job'"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, who owns a 28.94 percent stake in the club, made the bombshell revelation that United would've 'run out of cash' by the end of this year had they not implemented cost-cutting measures. This has included axing free lunches for staff, cutting 250 job roles - with another 200 at risk - and ending a £40,000-a-year donation to a charity supporting former players.
"I just think when you are in a period of change, it is disruptive," Ratcliffe, who's faced backlash following the club's decisions, added to BBC Sport. "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.
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"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."
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