Paul Scholes has suggested Manchester United’s decision to remove Sir Alex Ferguson from his ambassadorial role was ‘disrespectful’.
The Scot is the club’s most successful manager of all time winning 13 Premier Leagues, five FA Cups and two Champions Leagues at the helm at Old Trafford.
But co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe decided to rip up his £2.16million-a-year contract as part of a cost-cutting programme last week in a move which infuriated fans of the struggling side.
Scholes expressed his concerns with the move on TNT Sports ahead of the Red Devils’ clash with Fenerbahce on Thursday.
He said: ‘I thought it was a little bit distasteful for what that man has done for the club.
Paul Scholes has suggested Manchester United’s decision to remove Sir Alex Ferguson from his ambassadorial role was ‘disrespectful’
Ferguson is Ratcliffe’s biggest casualty after he cut 250 jobs, trying create a leaner operation
Ratcliffe is believed to have told the club legend of his decision to make changes – including the end of his ambassadorial role – at Old Trafford
‘Almost a little bit disrespectful but they’re new owners and new owners makes changes and they think what they’re doing is best for the club.
‘If they think they can save whatever money I know it’s been talked about £2million, if they think they can use it elsewhere then so be it.
‘This club owes a lot to Sir Alex Ferguson. It’s where it is now mainly because of the success he had for so many years.
‘The timing of it was poor because you think they’re in a really bad run of form, could you have waited or done it before the season started, at the end of the season.
‘The publicity wasn’t great around but Sir Alex Ferguson will be fine he will go on and still be the best ambassador the club has had.’
Ratcliffe informed Ferguson that he would be losing his role in a face-to-face meeting, bringing to an end his 38 years as a paid employee at United after this season.
Lifelong United fan Ratcliffe, 71, told the Glaswegian that, given the cuts, the club was no longer willing to pay him his previous salary. Ferguson will remain as a non-executive director and will retain his place in the director’s box and table for eight which he hosts at home matches.
Mail Sport’s sources insist the meeting was entirely amicable and that 82-year-old Ferguson, who will keep his title as a non-executive director, remains a close friend of the club who will always be welcome at Old Trafford.
United deny that they have directly banned Ferguson from the changing room but say there is now a ‘collective understanding’ over who goes inside – and Mail Sport has reported that he has been barred from the inner sanctum in a change in post-match policy.
Visits to the dressing room have been part of the club’s culture for decades. Ferguson and fellow football board members David Gill and Mike Edelson were always welcome, as were Sir Bobby Charlton and former director Maurice Watkins, before they passed away.
Ferguson, who won 38 trophies in 26 years, signed a deal following his retirement in 2013 to continue as a global club ambassador and director. In 2014 accounts United said Ferguson, 82, was paid £2.16million for his services.
For the last 11-and-a-half years, Ferguson’s duties have included representing United all over the world, as well as match-day hospitality with the club’s partners and sponsors at Old Trafford, and appearing on promotional videos.
The Scot has been a regular spectator at home and away games, apart the period after he suffered a life-threatening brain haemorrhage in 2018 and following the death of his wife, Lady Cathy, a year ago.
He has often been seen sitting next to Ratcliffe in the directors’ box and chatting with the Ineos owner since he paid £1.3billion to acquire 27.7 per cent of the club.
Scholes played his career exclusively under Ferguson at United
The Glazer family were happy to let Ferguson continue in his well-paid role, partly as an acknowledgement that his success on the pitch brought huge financial benefit to the club.
Ineos have launched a series of brutal cuts since they took a quarter share in the club earlier this year.
As Mail Sport revealed, they recently made 250 redundancies across departments – around a quarter of their workforce.
