Latest news with #JimRatcliffe
The Sun
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Sir Alex Ferguson arrives at Champions League final with Gary Neville as £2m-a-year Man Utd role comes to an end
SIR ALEX FERGUSON is preparing for a new chapter - by watching Paris Saint-Germain attempt to write their greatest one ever. The legendary ex-Manchester United boss arrived at Bayern Munich's famous venue with Gary Neville as PSG bid to finally win the Champions league. 1 The French giants are taking on Inter Milan, just as 83-year-old Fergie bows out of his special role as United's global ambassador. It's not quite been the final flourish the Red Devils' most famous ever manager might have liked. He was in Bilbao to see United's 1-0 loss to Tottenham in the Europa league showpiece on May 21. And that's after he lost his £2million-a-year position at Old Trafford - as part of major cost-cutting from United's minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe. It certainly wasn't personal as Ratcliffe and his company unveiled nearly 500 redundancies. And there's also planned investment for the future - most notably for a new £2billion 100,000-seat stadium. Ferguson's glittering 26 years in charge contrasts with everything that has followed since his managerial retirement in 2013. Fergie guided United to 13 Premier League titles and two Champions league crowns. Undoubtedly the peak was the Treble in 1998-99 - three years before fellow club icon Neville arrived. Now the ex-England defender, 50, is a TV pundit - while it's unclear if Fergie will have another direct job in football.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ruben Amorim ‘on collision course for huge fall-out if Bruno Fernandes is sold in transfer window'
SIR JIM RATCLIFFE risks a major falling out with Ruben Amorim should he sell Bruno Fernandes, according to reports. Manchester United captain Fernandes is being aggressively pursued by Saudi side Al-Hilal. 3 With the Red Devils on a post-season tour of Asia, the midfielder's agent has been in Riyadh meeting with Al-Hilal chiefs. The Saudi side are said to be willing to spend £100million on the 30-year-old, while offering him a three-year tax-free deal worth £200m. According to the Star, Ratcliffe is willing to cash in on Fernandes in order to ease cash-strapped United's financial woes. Amorim, however, is determined to keep his skipper - and would be "seething" should his Portuguese compatriot be flogged. Fernandes, who is said to be seriously considering Al-Hilal's offer, opened the door to an Old Trafford exit after United's Europa League final defeat to Tottenham. The midfielder said: "I have always been honest. I've always said I will be here until the club says to me that it's time to go. "I'm eager to do more, to be able to bring the club the great days. "In the day that the club thinks that I'm too much or it's time to part ways, football is like this, you never know it. But I've always said it and I keep my word in the same way. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 3 "If the club thinks it's time to part ways because they want to do some cashing in or whatever, it's what it is, and football sometimes is like this." Asked about whether Fernandes will leave after picking him for today's 3-1 victory over Hong Kong, boss Amorim claimed: "I don't think so. Ruben Amorim bursts out laughing when asked about Man Utd star's future "I don't know for sure, nobody does. But I don't think so. "I think he wants to stay. He is saying no to a lot of things but it shows that he wants to win."
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Al-Hilal confident over Bruno Fernandes transfer as £100m Man Utd talks progress
Al-Hilal are increasingly confident of landing a deal for Bruno Fernandes after positive talks over the Manchester United captain. The Saudi Arabia champions have made Fernandes, 30, their main summer target and want to wrap up a move before the Fifa Club World Cup starts in a fortnight. Discussions over a stunning transfer have accelerated in the past few days with Fernandes's agent, Miguel Pinho, holding talks in the Four Seasons hotel in Riyadh which have led to Al-Hilal believing there is a genuine possibility of a deal. The Saudi Pro League (SPL) winners are looking to make up to three signings this summer and take advantage of United's financial problems with a deal that could be worth between £80million to £100m. United have gone on a post-season tour to generate funds – around £7.8m – after another season of making losses. Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said they would have gone 'bust by Christmas' without cost-cutting measures. Fernandes is giving serious consideration to leaving United after six seasons and at the end of a campaign where he has clearly been their best player. Al-Hilal would offer him a handsome package to switch to the SPL, and are moving quickly to get ready for their summer tournament in America. He gave no guarantees over his future when asked towards the end of the season about plans for next season. United head coach Ruben Amorim has insisted he wants the player to stay but could also use the incoming money to reshape his squad. 'You can see by his performances. You can see by his leadership. You can see the passion he has for the game. In difficult moments Bruno is the guy who takes responsibility. He should do because he is the captain,' said Amorim.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fear and loathing in Kuala Lumpur: Manchester United's tour is going well
While Manchester United ended the season trophyless and 15th in the Premier League, they did at least get to join their comparatively triumphant Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle counterparts in having an open-top bus parade. Currently serving club-enforced penance for their shambles of a season on a money-spinning post-season tour of Asia, the players – well, four of them at least – were forced to endure the indignity of being paraded through the streets of Kuala Lumpur on a heavily branded giant red doubledecker with 'Glory, Glory, Man United' blaring through its speakers, presumably to try to drum up interest in upwards of 12,000 unsold tickets for their Maybank Challenge Cup match against a scratch Asean All Stars side, scheduled to take place the following day. Related: 'It sends a signal': Jim Ratcliffe rebuked for Manchester United Women remarks With no obvious route mapped out, the roads resolutely unclosed and ne'er a trophy to show off to the largely indifferent pedestrians they passed, it would be fair to say Matthijs De Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee, Ayden Heaven and Patrick Dorgu looked at a loss to know what exactly to do, much as they have all season. In clips Football Daily has seen, the two Dutchmen at least had the good grace to smile and wave half-heartedly at passing commuters. Their younger teammates wore the thousand-yard stares of young recruits upon whom the realisation has dawned that this wasn't what they signed up for when the United recruiting department pointed a meaty forefinger in their direction and said 'Big Sir Jim wants you!'. Elsewhere in the city, a raft of their teammates were also performing the role of appointed volunteers, seated behind a long table in a sports retail outlet to meet and greet their sizeable Malaysian fanbase. Not long off a 14-hour flight and having been told to find a new club by his manager, Alejandro Garnacho looked as if he would rather defecate in his own hands and clap than sign shirts or pose for selfies with his adoring public. While he stifled yawns, alongside him his older and wiser skipper, Bruno Fernandes, at least made a genuine effort to play the game. Which is more than can be said for United's players when they finally got round to lining up against the invitational side assembled to play them at the National Stadium Bukit Jalil. A 72,550-strong crowd, who had not paid good money to watch United lose to the only goal of the game scored by a player from a side that finished mid-table in the Thai top flight, made no secret of their displeasure after seeing United sunk by Maung Maung Ling's strike. The crowd barracked the losers, who looked like they would rather be anywhere else. At least the good news for Fernandes, Garnacho and chums is that they are now somewhere else, almost certainly being forced to jump through similar partnership-friendly hoops in Hong Kong. 'The boos from the fans, maybe it is something we need because every game that we lost in the Premier League they were always there,' sighed Ruben Amorim after a defeat that while entirely inconsequential, has still managed to be source of much mirth for people of a certain age who never tire of seeing United lose. 'We don't have it in us not to choke in every exercise, in every game – that is what happened. We should win these kind of games, no matter what.' While the Portuguese's commendable frankness in the face of each new obstacle his team trips over never ceases to be entertaining, it is surely only a matter of time before his brutal honesty when it comes to discussing his own and his team's shortcomings results in him talking himself out of a job. 'I was sick of getting the ball and going backwards or sideways. I thought when I next get the ball, I'm just going to go [forward] and it worked' – Cole Palmer, in his inimitable style, explains that apparently the way to completely turn European finals on their head with multiple moments of elite quality, is to go forward towards the opposition's goal. Coaches and fellow players, take note! 'If you saw what Cole did today, it was crazy,' elaborated teammate Tosin Adarabioyo. 'He showed bundles of quality to provide both assists. He changed the game, that's what he does.' Your list of TNT lads-and-lasses nicknames (Wednesday's Football Daily) suggests that Owen Hargreaves doesn't have one. Does he want one? How about the Big O? Or the Big OHtm?' – Mike Wilner (please see this link – Football Daily Ed). 'As a keen photographer I really enjoyed Jonny Weeks' Story of the 2024-2025 Premier League season in 100 photos – some of them clearly reflecting some serious fine art. I was particularly impressed with that shot of Liam Delap's face getting rearranged into a Picasso-inspired Cubist masterpiece by the match ball, and snow on the Anfield pitch channelling Mark Rothko in his little-known green period' – Steve Malone. Send letters to . Today's prizeless letter o' the day winner is … Steve Malone. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed . This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, .
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Man Utd torpedoing transfer plans through Sir Jim Ratcliffe's £7.8m greediness
It never looked like a good idea, but it is turning out to be much worse than expected. After concluding their miserable 2024-25 season, Manchester United flew over 6,600 miles to Kuala Lumpur for marketing reasons. Having deemed 60 largely disappointing matches inadequate, United's brains trust signed their demoralised squad up for two more. 'Importantly, tour fixtures drive significant additional revenue which help make the club stronger, allowing us to keep investing in success on the pitch,' chief executive Omar Berrada said plainly when the club announced the genius plan in early April. Back then, there must have already been nagging worries that United's decision-makers were signing their club up for another dose of embarrassment. All for the estimated revenue of $10million (£7.8m) the trip will make for United. This is the reality of the Sir Jim Ratcliffe era : a penny-pinching petrochemicals billionaire. A man worth $16.7bn (£12.4bn), according to Forbes, making hundreds of staff redundant and sending his exhausted players halfway across the world to appease sponsors and spread the good word of United. That £7.8m is suddenly looking like a bad deal. The malaise that engulfed the club this season became even darker and thicker with the 1-0 defeat by Tottenham in the Europa League final and has now become a pervasive presence; an unwanted 12th man on the pitch. Videos of Alejandro Garnacho half-heartedly signing autographs and other players trudging heads down past screaming fans were bad enough before the actual football – ostensibly the reason for their visit – was taken into account. United somehow managed to lose 1-0 to the ASEAN All Stars in Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Wednesday. Ruben Amorim used 25 outfield players, but was powerless to stop Maung Maung Lwin – a Burmese player who plies his trade in the Thai League – from providing the game's only goal. Many of the 84,000 people who turned up in the Malaysian capital, some of whom had paid £260 for a ticket, booed them off the pitch. In a season of crushing lows, United had somehow managed to plumb new depths. This was embarrassing – and it is obvious who was to blame. United have set their players up for failure with this ridiculous money-grabbing PR disaster. Even if they had enjoyed a good domestic campaign, or if they had beaten Spurs in Bilbao, the players would not have been up for this trip. There is a reason this is the first time United have embarked on a post-season tour. This one is only a few days old and it is already backfiring in potentially spectacular fashion. While Matheus Cunha is too far down the line to change his mind over a £62.5m transfer from Wolves to United, other targets are not. United better hope they are enjoying their holiday so much that they haven't bothered opening social media or reading the newspapers. Because does anyone really want to join this mess? They are a rubbish football team right now, but more than that, they are a miserable and disunited bunch. They will become a revolving door this summer, shipping out scores of players while scrabbling around for anyone who will join them. They won't play any European football next season and Carrington is reportedly a vibe vacuum, having had the life sucked out of it by Ratcliffe's staff purge. This is the context which players like Liam Delap must currently be assessing. Delap is poised to leave Ipswich for £30m this summer. He is understood to be choosing between United and Chelsea – a decision which currently looks extremely straightforward. While United ended the season as a representation of the 'This is fine' meme, everything burning around them, Chelsea did so with a European trophy and a place in next season's Champions League secured. Ratcliffe has frequently, and in public, lamented the way things were done at United. He has made decisions he deems unpopular but necessary. But what he seems to fail to understand is that perception matters. Yes, he may have succeeded in putting the club on a more even footing financially, but at what cost? This ludicrous post-season tour is a perfect example of the Ratcliffe era so far: commercially astute yet visually unappealing. It could be extremely damaging to the planned squad overhaul this summer. Sky has slashed the price of its bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more. Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
