Man Utd STOP paying Sir Ferguson’s £2M salary as Sir Ratcliffe cuts costs

MANCHESTER UNITED have stopped paying legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson's £2million-a-year salary.

Red Devils co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has cut costs by removing Fergie from his ambassadorial role.

He will still act as a non-executive member of the board and be welcome at games.

Ferguson, 82, won 38 trophies including 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues during his 27 years as Man Utd manager.

Just five months after leaving in 2013, he signed a deal to become a global ambassador worth £2.16m per year.

Now that deal has been torn up as Ferguson steps away from his time-consuming ambassadorial duties.

It was an amicable decision between both parties.

It is claimed Ratcliffe met with Ferguson in person to tell him cost-cutting measures will include no longer paying him his seven-figure salary.

Man Utd will continue to employ him as a non-executive director - and he will always be welcome at matches.

Ferguson, who turns 83 in December, will not receive payments from the club beyond the end of the season.

It is the latest attempt from Ratcliffe to reduce costs after a number of other cutbacks - which also reportedly includes cancelling the Christmas party.

Last month, it was revealed he is letting go of 250 employees at the club.

He has also cancelled senior Man Utd staff’s private cars and reduced lunch privileges on match-days.

The decision to cut Fergie's salary comes after Ratcliffe was pictured sat alongside the iconic manager when he attended his first Man Utd game as co-owner back in January.

Ratcliffe later said: "He [Fergie] was the first person I met when I went up there which I think was the second week of January and I had a meeting from 9am to 10am at his house and I left at 1pm.

"He never stopped. He’s got a lot of experience, a lot of stories to tell and a lot of thoughts about the club."