Ineos 'the news Glazers'

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 23 Oct 2024 11:32 BST
• 4 min read

Manchester United co-owners Ineos have been criticised for acting in the same manner as the Glazers.

Sir Jin Ratcliffe's group took over football operations at the start of the year but there have been a few instances where decisions have echoed that of their predecessor.

Omar Berrada came in as the new CEO and Dan Ashworth as the new sporting director, in what was a huge facelift. United were remarkably diligent in the transfer window where outgoings were concerned, managing to sell €104.2 million in total. There are also plans to rebuild the infrastructure, including Carrington Training Complex and Old Trafford.

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However there are concerns that a lot of issues are still ongoing off the field. In particular, the MEN have made some interesting comparisons. A piece from them today read: "Early warning signs emerged when most staff benefits were scrapped when United made the FA Cup final at the end of May, which caused morale among staff to plummet.

"United charged staff £20 to travel to and from Wembley when it was previously free. They had previously given tickets for cup finals to their 1,100 staff members with travel to Wembley, along with pre-match food and hotel accommodation included, but that was withdrawn.

"There has also been chatter that players threatened to pay for their own flight home from Wembley when Ineos organised a coach back to Manchester."

Ratcliffe discovered that United had the highest number of employees in the Premier League. Not long after, the departure of 250 staff members were announced.

Some staff members had spent nearly their entire professional careers at United but then were cast out by Ineos. Ratcliffe wants to make United more financially efficient. However, he has done this without concern for the club's institutional values.

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Meanwhile, coverage of youth games has been scaled back and some fans are becoming increasingly frustrated.

While on the pre-season tour, veteran Jonny Evans said about the cuts: “It’s been hard and difficult to see. The new owners feel that’s the ­direction that they want to go.

"But it’s not been easy for everyone at the same time. There’s people you’ve known for 20 years and the timing of it happened as we came away on tour pretty much. So we were all a bit in the dark and I’m sure everything will be sorted out, things will be a bit more clear when we get back.

“But it’s been a difficult thing to see – people I’ve known for a long, long time. One thing about working in a club like Man United, you’re all in and everyone’s always been all in. It’s a big massive staff but I think that’s just been the culture of the club. It’s always had that feeling of people."