As if Manchester United haven’t been through enough.
The Premier League giants, who have been in a complete malaise since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013, made headline news across Europe on Tuesday when it was revealed they were stopping a payment to the club icon as part of a cost-saving measure.
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The 83-year-old will remain as an ambassador, but his £2.16million salary has been removed from the books, an agreement which the club insists was ‘amicable’.
Nevertheless, the move has caused outrage from the fanbase and beyond, with the latest to comment on the matter being club icon Eric Cantona.
Writing on Instagram, the Frenchman said: “Sir Alex Ferguson should be able to do anything he wants at the club until the day he dies.
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“Such a lack of respect. It’s totally scandalous. Sir Alex Ferguson will be my boss forever! And I throw them all in a big bag of s***!”
Amid the outrage, the team Ferguson once described as their ‘noisy neighbours’, Manchester City, will be taking glee in another bizarre decision from their rivals.
Now, one of their former players and coaches has had an idea to make matters even worse for the Red Devils.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Stuart Pearce said: “Wouldn’t it be good if the Manchester United squad said we’ll fund that money per-season to keep Alex in post because he’s too important to this club?”
He then went even further, adding: “I got a little bit mischievous and thought, what if Manchester City players said, wouldn’t it be good if we chipped in and paid Alex Ferguson’s wages each year to keep him in place for what he’s done for that club across the road, that is going to inspire us on a weekly basis.
“It would be classy. You’ve sacked your best ever but we’ll fund him, it’s no problem.”
The hugely-unpopular move is the latest in a series of cost-cutting measures by new co-owners INEOS who are chaired by Monaco-based British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.
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After buying a 25 per cent stake in the club at the start of the year and taking over footballing matters, INEOS have reportedly cut over 250 jobs.
They have also removed club credit cards, while their decision to withdraw free travel for staff in May also went down terribly.
On that occasion it emerged that club captain Bruno Fernandes had offered to cover the expenses, suggesting Pearce’s suggestion isn’t completely outlandish.