Bruno Fernandes supply snubbed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe as Man Utd star ‘shocked’
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was ‘taken aback’ after the club announced their decision earlier this year to scale back on the benefits afforded to club staff
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was reportedly ‘taken aback’ by Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s decision to slash benefits for club staff.
Ratcliffe, the British billionaire, officially took over as United’s new controlling co-owner a year ago and has since implemented a harsh cost-cutting regime at Old Trafford. Approximately 250 staff have been laid off, credit card privileges have been revoked and ambassador contracts like Sir Alex Ferguson’s have been terminated. Despite this, United continues to splash out on football-related expenses.
Over £200million was spent in the summer transfer window, while United also had to shell out compensation for Erik ten Hag and Dan Ashworth following their dismissals. Another measure was also introduced in May ahead of the FA Cup final against Manchester City.
The club informed staff that the usual perks of a free ticket, travel, food and accommodation would not be provided. Instead, staff were required to pay £20 for a coach trip to Wembley and received nothing more than the ticket. According to The Athletic, this move left skipper Fernandes ‘taken aback’. So much so, that the midfielder approached executives and offered to cover all the usual extras from his own pocket, reports the Mirror.
However, his proposal was turned down, with the club’s new bosses sticking to their guns. Fernandes played the full 90 minutes as United clinched the FA Cup, marking a high point in Ratcliffe’s tenure. The billionaire has stood by his stringent cost-cutting measures, asserting that ‘hard choices’ are essential.
“Manchester United has become mediocre,” he declared to United We Stand magazine. “It is supposed to be one of the best football clubs in the world. We have to make some difficult and unpopular decisions.”
“If you shy away from the difficult decisions, then nothing much is going to change. I know we get criticism in the press but we do need to challenge the cost of running this club because what I want to be free for us to do is buy really good footballers, not spend so much of the money on infrastructure.
“We can’t run a business at a loss, which is where United have been in the last couple of years. If you are losing money you have to borrow from the bank to pay for the losses. Eventually that becomes unsustainable.
“I don’t want to end up in a position where the genuine local fans can’t afford to come but I do want to optimise the ticketing. We need to find a balance – and you can’t be popular all the time either. I don’t think it makes sense for a Manchester United ticket to cost less than a ticket to see Fulham.”
