Sir Jim Ratcliffe has ‘declared war’ in a bid to reduce Manchester United’s bloated wage bill and is ‘refusing to budge’ to meet Kobbie Mainoo’s demands.
Ratcliffe revealed the dire straits the club is in while talking to Gary Neville and others this week in a series of interviews, claiming the club would be “bust by Christmas” without the cost-cutting strategies he’s overseen since taking charge just over a year ago.
But laying off members of staff at Carrington and failing to feed those that remain isn’t going to make any real difference, with most of the money leaking out of the club being spent on the players’ wages.
Ratcliffe has therefore ‘vowed to slash players’ pay’ according to The Sun.
‘Salaries for new signings and stars attempting to renegotiate their deals will be massively scaled back’, with ‘huge bonuses offered instead when results improve’.
A United source said: “The club is moving towards performance-based contracts. This has been discussed with agents going forward.
“We will still pay competitively but we do need to manage our wage bill and ensure we are getting value for money.”
The change will see lower base pay offered to new players, but will also hit current players negotiating new deals, like Mainoo.
Talks over the academy graduate’s wage demands have stalled – he currently earns just £20,000 per week and wants £150,000 – but the report claims Ratcliffe is ‘refusing to budge’ in a bid to ‘change the culture’ at United.
It’s a decision that’s likely to see Mainoo leave the club after a report last week claimed he was ‘minded to reject the offer of a new contract at Manchester United and seek a move abroad’ in any case.
It was claimed United ‘would be open to selling’ the player and believe he is worth ‘around £70million’.
Chelsea’s previous interest was mentioned but Mainoo ‘moving to another Premier League club is not currently part of his thinking’.
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Red Devils legend Wayne Rooney is unlikely to be pleased with Ratcliffe’s policy change given Mainoo is one of just two players he believes his former club should be holding onto.
Rooney said: “[On whether there is a way back for this Manchester United team] No, I don’t think so. They look lost. They look scared. Bruno [Fernandes] is the one who keeps producing, he annoys you at times but keeps producing. They need massive changes to the squad, I think 10-15 players need to leave the club. Obviously, they can’t do that, but there is a mentality there where no one is taking responsibility [in the squad].
“[On the players to keep] I’d keep Bruno and [Kobbie] Mainoo. There is a culture at the club where it’s too easy to lose games and the players come out and say, ‘Onto the next one,’ and all that rubbish. Just show some character and fight on the pitch. It’s bad watching, it hurts. Being from Liverpool but spending so many years at United, I want the team to do well, I’ve got my kids in the academy, and it hurts watching them.”
