COST-CUTTING Sir Jim Ratcliffe has “ripped out” the Manchester United that Michael Owen used to know, the former striker claims.
Ratcliffe, 72, has made a series of brutal cuts since buying a stake in the Red Devils earlier this year.
The Ineos chief axed 250 staff roles, while he recently received a backlash as ticket prices were raised to a minimum of £66 with concessions scrapped.
United’s staff Christmas party was also cancelled, with their £100 festive cash bonus slashed to a £40 M&S voucher.
Owen, who played for the Red Devils between 2009 and 2012, has been disappointed to see the club shaken up behind the scenes.
But the former striker worries that fans won’t care, if they see results on the pitch.
Speaking to the MEN, via AceOdds, the 45-year-old said: “When I was at Manchester United, all the kit men, the canteen ladies, the security, the receptionist, the physios, the doctors, it’s the backroom team that you know so much – if you go back now it’s literally all been ripped out.
“It’s quite heartbreaking for people that you know who have lost their jobs.
“The casual fans don’t care, they just want to see their team lifting a trophy whereas to us players, if I speak to old Liverpool team-mates and say, ‘oh, you’ve been back to Liverpool lately, I went back to the training ground and I know nobody’. It’s just a different club.
“The badge is still the same and the bricks and mortar are still the same, but inside it’s just totally different and that’s what matters to us who have lived it and were on the inner sanctum.”
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On the strain that such changes can put on people behind the scenes, he added: “It’s quite hard to say when somebody comes in and has a massive shake-up and loads of people lose their jobs.
“However, as I say, to the casual fan, they probably think, ‘yeah, get rid of everyone, and let’s start again’.
“It’s easy to flippantly say that, but these are people who probably have children and lives and it’s been their job for a long time and they’ve invested everything into it. It’s quite heartbreaking the actual practicality of it.
“Tinged with a little bit of sadness when I heard some of my old friends have lost their jobs, but understand, of course, as well, that Manchester United did need a bit of a shake-up and I can understand why they’ve taken the axe or wielded the axe, to so many roles.”
Following his sacking, former boss Erik ten Hag found himself in line for a £15million pay off.
United then forked out Ruben Amorim‘s £11m release clause to prise him from Sporting.
The Red Devils also eagerly recruited Dan Ashworth from Newcastle, only to axe him at a cost of £3m just five months later.
Amorim will lead his side to the Etihad this afternoon as they take on Manchester City.
United go into the contest 13th in the Premier League.
On Thursday night they defeated Czech side Viktoria Plzen 2-1, with two goals by super-sub Rasmus Hojlund completing the turnaround.
By Neil Custis
The blame game has another victim as things go from bad to worse at Old Trafford.
Manchester United’s first sporting director, Dan Ashworth, arrived in the summer and is gone before Christmas.
SunSport exclusively revealed in November that there was trouble at mill.
That the new senior management team were already blaming each other for the mess the club were in.
Chief executive Omar Berrada and Ashworth were trying to wash their hands of it all, claiming they had arrived too late after serving their gardening leave.
New part owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said making decisions was all down to them.
Meanwhile, Jason Wilcox thought it was all a mess under previous boss Erik ten Hag but was part of the team that encouraged him to stay after every other candidate ran for cover.
Defeat Nottingham Forest in December, after their second-half capitulation at Arsenal a few days previously, proved too much.
