Sir Jim Ratcliffe has revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson reacted to being told he was being axed as a paid employee for Manchester United.
The most successful manager in the club's history, Ferguson remained involved with United as a director and ambassador after retiring in 2013 following 26 years and 38 trophies.
According to The Athletic, citing 2014 accounts under the related party transactions section, Ferguson signed a deal to become a global ambassador in October 2013 and was paid an annual salary of £2.16 million.
However, back in October it was reported that that the Ratcliffe and INEOS, who own 28.94 per cent of United, were ending the agreement as one of many cost-cutting measures.
At the time it was reported that Ratcliffe told Ferguson in a face-to-face meeting and the decision was taken amicably. But in a wide-ranging interview with the BBC, Ratcliffe has revealed how exactly the meeting played out and how he ultimately "put the club before himself" after a conversation with his son.
"I take my hat off to Alex," Ratcliffe said.
"I sat down with Alex, just the two of us in the room, and I said 'look, the club isn't where you may think it is. It is spending more than it's earning and we're going to finish up in some difficulties. Honestly, we can't really afford to continue to pay you £2 million a year'.
"I said 'I'm going to leave it with you, let you have a think about it'.
"It was very grown up. Maybe a little bit grumpy at the beginning but he got it, and he came back three days later, after talking to his son, and said 'fine, I'm going to step away from it. My decision'.
"I think it reflects really well on Alex, because he put the club before himself."
Sir Alex Ferguson greets Sir Jim Ratcliffe at a Manchester United game in November. Image: Getty
Ferguson was the first person Ratcliffe spoke with when he agreed to purchase a stake in the club back in January 2024, with the two sitting next to one another in the director's box for a game against Spurs.
The Scot had said he was "optimistic" about Ratcliffe's involvement in United when asked about INEOS purchasing a stake.
The 83-year-old remains a non-executive director and is still allowed to attend United games.
Despite being one of the biggest clubs in the world, United are in a dire financial situation and after 250 members of staff were made redundant in the summer, recently said they expect a further 150-200 jobs to be removed and will follow "a consultation process with employees".
Ratcliffe defended decisions taken to cut costs, believing "they are necessary" to put the club "on to a stable footing".
He claimed that had redundancies and other cost-cutting measures not been taken, United would run out of money by the time Christmas rolls around.
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