- 8 hours ago
Sir Jim Ratcliffe to sell club’s highest earners to cut costs
Carlo Garganese
- 7 Jan 2024 07:27 CST
- 3 min read
New Manchester United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe plans to cut costs, and that spells bad news for the club’s highest earners.
Ratcliffe has acquired a minority stake at United that will be ratified in the coming weeks, and the INEOS owner will assume control of the club’s transfer policy and recruitment.
According to journalist Alan Nixon, INEOS plan to cut costs at the club by slashing the side’s wage bill.
Ratcliffe plans to sell Casemiro, who is the highest earner at Manchester United on a massive €21 million per year.
The 31-year-old performed well for much of last season and he played a key role in them winning the Carabao Cup.
However, his form has fallen off badly this campaign - coupled with injuries - as Man Utd have had their worst start to a season for over 30 years.
There is interest from Casemiro in Saudi Arabia, and United would be open to selling the Brazilian in January if a suitable offer arrived.
Varane to join Casemiro through exit door
According to further reports, INEOS also plan to offload Raphael Varane this year.
Varane is the second highest earned at Man Utd on €20.5m a year.
Varane has lost his place in the United starting XI and the club would not stand in the way of him being sold this month if an offer of around €15-20m arrived.
Varane’s contract expires at the end of the season, although United do have the option to extend by another year to 2025.
The fourth highest earner at Man Utd is Anthony Martial on €15m a year.
Martial’s contract expires in six months and United will not be renewing. Indeed, United would ideally like to sell for a small fee this month.
Thus, by the start of next season it is very possible that United have offloaded three of their four highest salaries, saving a huge €46.5m per year.
