IN THE RED

MANCHESTER. − Firing Erik ten Hag and Dan Ashworth meant Manchester United STILL made a loss last year − despite cutting 400 backroom jobs.

Old Trafford staff bore the brunt of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting round.

Employees at the stadium and the club’s Carrington training ground saw jobs lost and free lunches axed for the survivors, with United’s final accounts for 2024-25 showing that contributed to shaving £51m off the club’s wage bill.

But United’s figures showed the club paid out a staggering £36.6m in compensation for axed senior staff.

And the bulk of that went to paying off Ten Hag, his coaching staff and short-lived sporting director Ashworth, sacked after just five months in the role.

United reported record total revenues of £665m, including £160.3m in Old Trafford gate receipts − helped by controversial ticket price rises.

Commercial income soared to £333.3m in the first year of the five-season shirt deal with Snapdragon and other new partnerships, including one with Coca-Cola.

But with United completing the £50m refit of Carrington − unveiled last month − costs outstripped income by a pre-tax total of £39.6m, with an operating loss of £18.4m.

That compared with an operating loss of £69.3m the previous year − much of which was due to a 33 per cent wages cut to the first team squad − adding up to £51.5m − because United were not in the Champions League. − The Sun