Employees working at the club will have to pay their own travel expenses if they want to watch the FA Cup final on May 25.
This May, Manchester United WAGs (players’ wives and girlfriends) may lose out on a special experience as the free trip to the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium may no longer be available.
Man United staff were also told there were no spare tickets for their families, no free lunch as usual or transport to the match against Manchester City on May 25.
All this comes amid fears that the new owner – billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, may be about to introduce savings measures at Old Trafford.
MU tightens finances amid concerns that wasteful spending will affect the club’s future.
In the past, Manchester United often organized lavish trips for players’ relatives, including booking luxury hotels, organizing exclusive parties and paying for airfare for important matches.
But club insiders have revealed there will be “no official trip” to the final this year for them, meaning they will have to organize and pay for it themselves.
Stars like Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof and Casemiro are expected to be cheered by WAGs.
Luke Shaw will likely have his girlfriend Anouska Santos, along with his children Reign and Storie in the stands.
Harry Maguire went on his honeymoon with his wife Fern.
But while few will feel sorry for the many millionaire footballers having to pay their own way to get to Wembley, there will be sympathy for the staff who can only dream of such opportunities.
They received a club-wide email, claiming that the cost-cutting was intended to `use the club’s money effectively`.
According to Deloitte, Man United had a revenue of 640 million pounds last year. But since the Glazers bought the club with financial leverage, debt has increased to 710 million pounds, including loans.
The club has also struggled with a drop in revenue following disappointing results on the field, leading to missed out on trophies and prize money like during the Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Rain poured down like a waterfall at Old Trafford last Sunday.
During last week’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal, videos showed a lot of water pouring from the roof onto the seats and spilling over the stands.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe – who bought 25% of the club’s shares for 1.2 billion pounds, has expressed his desire to build a new stadium called `Wembley of the North` to replace Old Trafford.
However, MU has paused plans to repair the ruined roof until there is an official decision on that.
The club looked into the possibility of installing a new roof, but this was an expensive and difficult project to undertake when Sir Jim’s other projects were still under consideration.
