Man United ex-players’ charity in trouble after Ratcliffe cost-cutting ended aid
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made several controversial cost-cutting decisions at Old Trafford in recent times
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has seen his time as Manchester United co-owner filled with controversy so far (Image: PA)
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s decision to withdraw Manchester United’s annual £40,000 donation to the Association of Former Manchester United Players (AFMUP) has reportedly put the charity’s future in doubt.
The AFMUP, established in 1985, utilised this funding to organise dinners and golf days that raised over £2million for former players, families, and charities. And the iPaper claim that the withdrawal has placed the association’s future in jeopardy, citing the cancellation of two events last year due to venue and catering expenses.
John Aston, 78, a pivotal figure in the 1968 European Cup triumph, recently suffered a stroke and remains hospitalised. Former players reportedly collected £5,000 for a wheelchair, which the club matched, but the AFMUP lacks resources for additional assistance.
Aston’s wife says the family is ineligible for government support and must cover nurse visits at £80 each, four times daily, to bring him home. She is said to remain uncertain over how they will meet these costs.
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The reports come after a huge cost-cutting exercise at M16 under Ratcliffe’s Ineos. The Reds co-owner has overseen a sweeping series of cost-cutting initiatives at United since investing £1billion to secure a 27.7% stake in the club in February 2024.
Speaking last year to defend his cost-cutting decisions, he said: “The costs were just too high. There are some fantastic people at Manchester United, but there was also a level of mediocrity and it had become bloated. I got a lot of flak for the free lunches, but no-one’s ever given me a free lunch.”
The INEOS owner has implemented measures, including eliminating up to 450 positions at United following his minority investment, and scrapping complimentary meals for staff. Ratcliffe, who also drew supporters’ ire by increasing matchday ticket prices to £66 per fixture, with no reductions for children or pensioners, argued that strengthening the club’s financial position was essential to achieving long-term on-field success.
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The 73-year-old said: “There are two halves to a football team. There’s the business side and the sports side. The biggest correlation, like it or not, between results and any external factor – is profitability.
“The more cash you’ve got, the better squad you can build. It’s like a Formula One car – the better car you can build, the quicker you go. The better your squad, the better your football should be. So a lot of what we’ve done in the first year is spend an awful lot of time putting the club on a sustainable, healthy footing.
“If you look at our results for last year, we have the highest revenues ever. Profitability, the second highest ever. We’re not seeing all the benefits of the restructuring that we’ve done in this set of results, and we weren’t in the Champions League.
“Those numbers will get better. Manchester United will become the most profitable football club in the world, in my view, and from that will stem, I hope, a long-term, sustainable, high-level of football.”
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