Manchester United AXE Sir Alex Ferguson from long-standing ambassadorial role

Manchester United’s minority owners INEOS have axed Sir Alex Ferguson’s long-standing ambassadorial contract at the club.

Ferguson, 82, left Old Trafford back in 2013 after 26 years at the club, winning 38 trophies and therefore cementing his legacy as one of the best managers of the modern era. Ever since, the former Aberdeen boss has been retained as global club ambassador and club director, with one of the perks a remunerated an annual salary.

But after the completion of an annual cost review overseen by INEOS and namely Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Red Devils have chosen to now end those privileges, with a meeting between the pair said to have ended amicably as the club again tries to best balance their finances.

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According to The Athletic, Ferguson signed an agreement shortly after his departure back in 2013 that allowed him some compensation for his service to the club.

The report states how the Scot received £2.16 million for his services, an arrangement that continued for well over a decade.

It is a practice that has also been honoured with many other legends, which included the late Sir Bobby Charlton, former chief executive David Gill and non-executive director Michael Edelson.

Ferguson is not currently a member of the new board which was crafted by INEOS in the summer, but he is still expected to remain as a non-executive director at the club and be welcome to attend games at the Theatre of Dreams and beyond.

Manchester United are still largely owned by the Glazer family, who have in the past quite clearly tried to keep Ferguson sweet.

But with INEOS’s cost-cutting claiming another victim, the Red Devils are still quite clearly trying to balance the books after years of financial problems away from the pitch.

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What problems are still looming for INEOS?

The biggest question over the international break has been regarding the future of first-team manager, Erik ten Hag. The former Ajax boss has faced increasing pressure over his position given Manchester United’s poor start to the new season.

According to a separate report from The Athletic, there is continuing talk over how the club approaches this situation, given Ten Hag would be due a hefty severance package should Manchester United chose to part with him this year.

“I don’t want to answer that question. I like Erik,” responded Ratcliffe when asked about Ten Hag’s future earlier this month. “I think he’s a very good coach but at the end of the day, it’s not my call, it’s the management team that’s running Manchester United that have to decide how best we run the team in many different respects.

“They’ve not been there a long time, so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions. Our objective is very clear – we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be, and it’s not there yet, obviously – that’s very clear.”