'mediocrity' had to be cut from club

SIR Jim Ratcliffe has defended his brutal cost-cutting measures at Manchester United and said they were needed to cut out “mediocrity” at the club.

- By DAVID MCDONNELL

Ratcliffe has presided over a huge raft of measures designed to cut costs at United, since spending £1billion to acquire a 27.7 percent shareholding in the club in February 2024

Billionaire INEOS chief Ratcliffe has overseen the culling of up to 450 jobs at United since he bought a minority stake in United, as well as stopping the policy of free meals for club staff.

Defending his savage cost-cutting decisions, Ratcliffe 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.”

Ratcliffe, who also angered United fans by raising match-day ticket prices to £66 per game, with no concessions for children or pensioners, said improving the club's financial performance was the key to sustained success on the pitch.