Alex Ferguson is set to renounce his ambassadorial position at Manchester United at the culmination of the season, a move forming part of the club’s financial austerity measures. The Scottish former manager, who led United to secure 38 trophies over his nearly 27-year tenure including 13 Premier League titles and two European Cups, has amicably agreed to terminate his ambassadorial role come the end of the season.
This was first revealed by The Athletic and forms part of a comprehensive financial pruning exercise actioned by Ineos, the entity responsible for football operations at Old Trafford since its founder Jim Ratcliffe bought a 27.7% stake in the club earlier this year.
As Ferguson approaches his 83rd birthday in December, it is believed that this role is among a set of demanding responsibilities that he intends to relinquish. Insiders from the club state that there was no acrimony surrounding this decision, with Ratcliffe himself assuring Ferguson of the unsustainability of the financial burden of the ambassador role. The Athletic reports that the club’s 2023 accounts had recorded a payment of £2.16 million (€2.6 million) for his duties.
Despite the change, United insiders maintain that Ferguson will always be welcome at Old Trafford and remains a non-executive director on the club’s board.
United publicly reported a loss of £113.2 million (€135.5 million) for the year ending June 30th, 2024. However, the club maintains their compliance with the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR), despite any infringement risking points deductions.
To improve their financial stability, United has initiated several austerity measures, one of them being a redundancy drive reducing the workforce across various departments by 250 at the end of August. They project redundancy payouts to set them back by around £10 million (€12 million). Nevertheless, the club anticipates that all the cutbacks will generate a total savings between £40 million to £45 million (€48 million to €54 million). This is expected to reflect positively on the financial outcomes for 2025 and 2026.