Sir Jim Ratcliffe increases stake in Manchester United ownership with £79 million investment

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has increased his share in Manchester United. The INEOS chairman has bought another £79 million worth of shares - adding another 1.24% to his already existing 27.7%.

As per a report in ESPN, the Glazers remain majority owners, but the British entrepreneur has started to increase his control at the club. The new £79 million investment is in addition to the £1.2 billion he paid to become the co-owner of the Old Trafford-based club.

The report adds that the fresh funds will not see Ruben Amorim get additional cash to spend in the January window. They will operate on a limited budget for the month as the club suffered over a £300 million loss over the last three seasons.

The budget suffered a further blow earlier this season as the club sacked Erik ten Hag and had to compensate him. The club also had to pay £11 million to get Ruben Amorim from Sporting CP.

Manchester United cut budget for stewards after Sir Jim Ratcliffe's takeover

Frank Robinson, a former steward with 24 years of experience at Old Trafford, has told iNews that Manchester United have significantly cut their budget. He claims that the stewards are no longer getting bonuses like they used to before the takeover earlier this year.

He stated that the stewards used to get £100 bonus for every 10 matches while also getting £50 for the steward of the week – both have now been canceled. He said:

“A lot of stewards are leaving since Ratcliffe came in. Up until last year they used to get an attendance bonus. Every 10 matches we did, we got a £100 bonus. Now they said you’re not having that. So they stopped that completely. For many years you’d have a steward of the week, someone nominated or fans wrote in and said how well this steward had done. You got £50 for that. Now they still have steward of the week, but they have no award. It’s very petty for a football club. You’re pinching off people at the bottom of the ladder.”

“Supervisors and stewards who’ve been at United for years are packing it in. Some stewards in their 70s, they’re putting them into the top tier of the North Stand because they know they won’t like it and they’ll leave. They can bring more agency staff in. They’re trying to force them out. They are getting rid of stewards and replacing them with untrained, unqualified agency staff. There’s no overheads with agency staff, no training, no uniforms, nobody having to work wages and holiday out.”

Manchester United also let go of over 250 employees this year because of cost-cutting measures.