Sir Alex Ferguson is set to leave his Manchester United ambassador role at the end of the season amid the club’s cost-cutting drive.
The Red Devils legend is synonymous with the club’s most successful years, having managed there between 1986 and 2013, winning 38 trophies.
However, since he left the dugout, United have struggled to build on the Scotsman’s achievements.
After stepping away, Ferguson was given an ambassador role for which he was reportedly paid over £2m a year, according to The Athletic, which first reported the news.
However, after the involvement of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s multinational conglomerate Ineos, Ferguson is set to step away from the role at the end of the season.
Ineos has taken on responsibility for football operations at the club since its founder Sir Jim completed the purchase of a 27.7% stake earlier this year.
The Glazer family remain majority owners.
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Ferguson and the club were understood to have reached an amicable agreement.
He turns 83 in December, and the ambassador role is said to be one of a number of time-consuming duties he is planning to give up.
Club sources said there was no acrimony over the decision, with Sir Jim having met Ferguson in person to say the club could no longer sustain the ambassador payments.
United sources stressed that Ferguson will always remain welcome at Old Trafford and will remain a non-executive director of the football club board.
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United posted losses of £113.2m for the year ending 30 June 2024, but the club defended their position, insisting they are compliant with Premier League profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).
They are now trying to put themselves on more sustainable financial footing and among their cost-cutting measures is a redundancy programme that has cut 250 people across all departments.
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The cost-saving measures taken together are expected to save between £40m-45m in total.
