1
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was loudly booed at a staff party held to watch the Europa League final on Wednesday night, according to a report.
The Red Devils’ dismal season reached a painful nadir in Bilbao as Ruben Amorim’s side suffered a 1-0 loss against domestic rival Tottenham Hotspur – their fourth of the season against the Lilywhites.
Victory would have secured another European trophy to the glittering cabinet at Old Trafford and entry into next season’s Champions League. Defeat leaves United with nothing other than the worst Premier League season in the club’s history.
The club’s leadership structure, headed by Ratcliffe and Avram Glazer, were in attendance at the San Mames Stadium to watch the season-defining clash. Neither man could have been happy with what their team produced, though only one has actually paid for the privilege of his position.
But 1000 miles away from the serene Spanish city, a 1000-strong party was held to watch the match for United’s non-playing staff and their family in Ancoats – a trendy neighbourhood in Manchester.
When the image of the club’s co-owners, Ratcliffe and A. Glazer, flashed up on the screens a chorus of boos ran out across the venue, Laurie Whitwell (The Athletic) reveals.
“Staff at United’s screening to watch the game in Manchester were concerned about the financial impact of that failure, given Berrada said in February the second redundancy round was based on United qualifying for the Europa League for the next four seasons.”
“The event was at Diecast, a trendy warehouse venue in Ancoats. Inevitably, there was gallows humour about this being a death knell. When Ratcliffe and Avram Glazer appeared on screen boos rang out among the 1,000-strong crowd of staff and family, once during the game and then again at full-time.”
“The mood afterwards was described as very sombre.”
INEOS have implemented a series of cost-cutting measures since assuming control of the football operation at Old Trafford after Ratcliffe’s minority stake ownership bid was accepted by the Glazer family. These decisions have been as brutal as they have been unpopular amongst the club’s staff body.
Widespread redundancies have created a sense of fear at United amongst those who survived the cull; and a feeling of acute anger at those who did not.
The fact that none of the financial hits at Old Trafford in the past twelve months have been felt by the handsomely paid first-team squad makes every one of these decisions sting that little more intensely.
It makes sense, therefore, that these two billionaires – who act as the personification of either the club’s horrific decline or the equally ghastly money saving approach – would spark an immediately negative reaction from a crowd largely filled by the families of those affected by their actions.
Featured image Michael Steele via Getty Images
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
