06 March 2024 , 10:10
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe is planning to cut up to a quarter of Manchester United's staff in a brutal cost-cutting move that will kick off his regime overseeing football operations at Old Trafford.
The British billionaire, who recently bought a 27.7 per cent stake in the club for £1.3billion, will bring in top consultants to help restructure the club, who have fallen behind their rivals on and off the pitch ever since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager in 2013.
In news exclusively revealed by the Daily Star, Ratcliffe thinks the club has too many staff and would work better if it was more streamlined, and the Glazers, who are ultimately his bosses given that they still own a large stake in the club, agree with him.
The news will come as a concern to employees who will be worried about losing their jobs before next season starts. United have the largest staff of any Premier League club, with nearly 1,200 people working at Old Trafford. That's more than Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal, who all have fewer than 1,000 staff.
Ratcliffe will ask his consultants to focus on improving United's commercial, merchandising and match day departments.
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Ratcliffe has big plans for United (AFP via Getty Images)Despite having a record turnover of almost £649m in October, neighbours City made more money the following month, even though they have fewer staff.
Ratcliffe is known for making companies more efficient once he takes ownership of them. INEOS, under the leadership of Ratcliffe, is known for keeping a lean team, focusing on quality over quantity, and the billionaire thinks that having a smaller team boosts responsibility, accountability and creativity.
After finalising his deal with United last month, Ratcliffe has quickly made his mark behind the scenes at Old Trafford, and plans to make his presence felt more and more in the coming months.
He plans to assess the future of under pressure manager Erik ten Hag this summer, with the Dutchman failing to convince many that he can achieve Ratcliffe's ambitious goal of winning the Premier League title by 2027.
Ratcliffe has joined a club currently sixth in the Premier League table, 19 points off leaders Liverpool and having lost 16 matches in all competitions this season..
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