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SIR JIM RATCLIFFE has opened up on Sir Alex Ferguson’s reaction to losing his ambassador role at Manchester United.
The legendary Red Devils boss, 83, was removed from his £2million-a-year position last October.
Getty
GettyRatcliffe, 72, completed a minority takeover of United in 2023.
The Ineos chief has since cut costs both on and off the field, including a wave of redundancies over the past year.
More than 200 jobs went last summer at Old Trafford, with Ratcliffe claiming the club could have gone BUST by the end of 2025.
One of the roles to go was Ferguson’s lucrative ambassadorial position, handed to him when he left the club in 2013.
The Scot is the most successful manager of all time and won 13 league titles at Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe revealed he spoke to Ferguson personally about the matter, telling Fergie the club “isn’t where you think it is.”
Speaking to the BBC, Ratcliffe said: “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’.
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“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.
“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.”
United are currently languishing in the lower reaches of the Premier League.
Fan protests erupted against the leadership on Sunday before the 1-1 draw with Arsenal.
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IT was a performance that would have pleased Ruben Amorim but a 1-1 draw with Arsenal does little to paper over the cracks at Manchester United.
On a day when the Old Trafford crowd protested the owners, the players stood up to show their remains life in a club that fans say is experiencing a “slow death”.
There was a lack of clear-cut chances in the opening 45 minutes as both sides goalscoring troubles continued.
A moment of magic was needed and Fernandes stepped up as he so often does.
Arsenal‘s wall was full of man mountains, but Fernandes found the power, dip and accuracy to beat David Raya with his free-kick – even if the wall was marched 11.2 yards back instead of the regulated ten.
Mikel Arteta’s side came out swinging in the second-half with their makeshift No9 up top, and it took a brilliant effort from Declan Rice to level the scores.
United were able to frustrate them and remain a threat on the counter but eventually had to settle for a point in a much-improved performance.
Here is how SunSport’s Martin Blackburn rated the United performances.
And Ratcliffe admits that some of the players currently on the books are “not good enough”.
He continued; “Some [players] are not good enough and some probably are overpaid.
“But for us to mould the squad that we are fully responsible for, and accountable for, will take time.
“We’ve got this period of transformation where we move from the past to the future.
“There are some great players in the squad as we know, the captain is a fabulous footballer.
“We definitely need Bruno Fernandes, he’s a fantastic footballer.”
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