SIR JIM RATCLIFFE has declared war on the bloated wage bill at Manchester United.
Co-owner Sir Jim vowed to slash players’ pay after years of decline on the pitch.
PASir Jim Ratcliffe is ready to revolutionise the way Man Utd dish out contracts[/caption]
GettyKobbie Mainoo is among those seeking a new deal at Old Trafford[/caption]
Salaries for new signings and stars attempting to renegotiate their deals will be massively scaled back.
And in another cost-cutting move designed to revive the glory days, huge bonuses will be offered instead – but only when results improve.
A United source revealed: “The club is moving towards performance-based contracts. This has been discussed with agents going forward.
“We will still pay competitively but we do need to manage our wage bill and ensure we are getting value for money.”
The shake-up will see cash withheld from new signings until Ruben Amorim’s team start to challenge for honours.
But it will also hit players keen to negotiate new long-term deals.
That includes midfield ace Kobbie Mainoo, whose prolonged contract talks have stalled over his wage demands.
The 19-year-old Mainoo – currently on £20,000-a-week – is said to want a new deal worth £150,000 a week.
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But Ratcliffe is refusing to budge and is determined to change the culture at United following a disastrous season.
They sit 14th in the table with just five wins in 17 Premier League games under Amorim.
Their only hope of silverware this term is in the Europa League.
Tonight, they host Real Sociedad in the last 16 with the score tied at 1-1 after last week’s first leg.
Sir Jim’s latest penny-pinching measure is likely to dent United’s chances of luring new players this summer.
But he reckons the club have rewarded failure for too long and in an interview this week, he revealed the squad was “not good enough”.
He also said he culled 450 staff because the “bloated” club was set to go “bust at Christmas”.
Legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson, 83, also stepped down from his role as an ambassador so the Red Devils could save £2million per year.
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IT was a performance that would have pleased Ruben Amorim but a 1-1 draw with Arsenal does little to paper over the cracks at Manchester United.
On a day when the Old Trafford crowd protested the owners, the players stood up to show their remains life in a club that fans say is experiencing a “slow death”.
There was a lack of clear-cut chances in the opening 45 minutes as both sides goalscoring troubles continued.
A moment of magic was needed and Fernandes stepped up as he so often does.
Arsenal‘s wall was full of man mountains, but Fernandes found the power, dip and accuracy to beat David Raya with his free-kick – even if the wall was marched 11.2 yards back instead of the regulated ten.
Mikel Arteta’s side came out swinging in the second-half with their makeshift No9 up top, and it took a brilliant effort from Declan Rice to level the scores.
United were able to frustrate them and remain a threat on the counter but eventually had to settle for a point in a much-improved performance.
Here is how SunSport’s Martin Blackburn rated the United performances.
This summer the club will spend around £100m on transfer fees for six players they already own.
Billionaire Sir Jim, 72, blasted: “Some are not good enough and some are probably overpaid.
“The numbers were fairly scary because they had sort of lost control.
“The club’s been spending more money than it’s been earning for the last seven years and it ends in a very difficult place.
“And for Manchester United, that place ended at the end of 2025, with the club running out of cash.”
Ratcliffe said the club would have to “buy” Jadon Sancho, Antony, Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund this summer.
Sir Jim added: “If we buy nobody else, we’re buying those players. We have inherited those things and have to sort that out.
“For Sancho, who now plays for Chelsea and we pay half his wages, we’re paying £17m to buy him.”
Sir Jim bought a 28.94 per cent stake in the club 13 months ago in a £1.3billion deal which saw his Ineos group take control of football operations.
But United are more than £1BILLION in debt – thanks to the way majority owners the Glazers have run the club – and lost more than £300m in the last three years.
Protesting fans have turned on the co-owner, with some chanting: “Just like the Glazers, Jim Ratcliffe’s a c***”.
On Tuesday, Sir Jim unveiled plans for a stunning new £2bn, 100,000-seater stadium – with many questioning how it would be paid for.
The project – which he hopes to complete in just five years – promises a £7.3bn injection into the economy.
It will see the area around the new ground redeveloped with 17,000 homes, hundreds of shops and restaurants and dozens of hotels.
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