Mark Lawrenson has slammed Manchester United bosses for axing Sir Alex Ferguson as a club ambassador.
Club legend Fergie has been left shocked after co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe told him his services would no longer ne needed next season. Fergie is the greatest manager in United’s history after winning 38 trophies in 26 years at the Red Devils.
Despite his iconic status at Old Trafford, he has been dropped from the £2m-a-year role as part of a cost-cutting exercise. But Liverpool legend Lawrenson has branded the treatment of Fergie as “awful.”
The former defender turned pundit told Paddy Power: “INEOS letting Sir Alex Ferguson go is an awful decision. I’ve got a picture in my head of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his team sat round a table, all deciding that it’s time for him to leave, and it’s simply ridiculous because Ferguson is that football club.
“I don’t believe that the club can’t afford to pay him, and I don’t believe that they mutually agreed this. I feel like it’s penny-pinching from INEOS, and it just sums up where Manchester United are at currently.”
(Image: Nick Potts/PA Wire)
Ratcliffe, who bought a minority stake in his childhood club last December, has implemented numerous off-field changes, including restructuring the club’s backroom staff and making numerous redundancies.
However, he is yet to see on-field success after backing manager Erik ten Hag in the summer, with United making their worst ever start to a Premier League season and the club currently languishing in 14th in the table as pressure mounts on the Dutch coach and INEOS hierarchy.