OLD TRAFFORD chiefs are locked in a blame game over who was responsible for their summer shambles.
Manchester United have become a laughing stock over their treatment of former boss Erik ten Hag.
The club’s recruitment strategy has also faced scrutiny following another summer splurge of nearly £180million.
Red Devils co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co were set to get rid of Ten Hag after the FA Cup final.
They ended up extending his contract and employing a new coaching team around him following their Wembley win over City.
But the Dutchman was axed after just nine Prem games this season with United languishing down in 14th in the table.
The former Ajax chief’s staff were also dismissed — all with sizeable pay-offs.
It cost around £15m to sack Ten Hag alone, while they had to shell out another £10m to bring Portuguese Ruben Amorim in from Sporting Lisbon, including an extra fee so that he could cut short his notice period.
It has been a bumpy start for Ratcliffe, who bought a 27.7 per cent stake in United in February and was charged with running the football side of the club.
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The British billionaire, 72, appointed a new senior management team, including Sir Dave Brailsford, Omar Berrada, Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox.
But so far, the jury is out on their summer transfer deals.
The likes of forward Joshua Zirkzee, at £36.5m, and £38.5m centre-back Matthijs de Ligt have struggled to find their feet.
Now, tough questions are being asked internally about who bears the most responsibility for what went wrong with their planned squad revamp.
