Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant has already made feelings clear on Sir Jim Ratcliffe's brutal cuts

Ex-Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen has already made his feelings clear on swingeing cutbacks – which have now included axing Sir .

most successful ever manager will at the end of the season as part of a cost-cutting exercise. Ferguson was told face-to-face by Ratcliffe that the club was no longer in a position to continue paying him, with the meeting over his contract said to be an amicable affair.

News of the arrangement with Ferguson, 83, is part of a wider cuts by United under INEOS, which has had responsibility for football operations at the club since its founder, Ratcliffe, completed the purchase of a 27.7% stake earlier this year.

The club are working to put themselves on a more sustainable financial footing and have instigated a number of cost-saving measures, including a redundancy programme which cut 250 jobs across all departments. In light of the news, Meulensteen, who spent six years working under Sir Alex, highlighted in the summer how the club’s previous “warmth” had “gone out of the window”.

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The Dutch coach, 60, also called for an explanation for the axing of some many loyal employees. He told the "It was just a big, big family [during his time at the club]. It was a massive club that was growing year on, year on, with the greatest manager that England has ever seen at the head of it.

"It never lost its warmth. If I had people over to visit and they watched training, they were all in awe at how wonderful it was, and how welcoming everyone was, and how friendly it all was.

"That apparently has all gone out the window. You hear that so many people have lost their jobs.

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"Sir Alex was there 26 years and had people who had been with him for 20 years, 22 years, 23 years. They were all there for a long time and I imagine now there'll be people who will have to leave their jobs after being with the club for a long time. I don't know the reasons behind it, but it needs some justification."

Last month United posted losses of £113.2million for the year ending June 30, 2024, but the club insisted they are compliant with the ’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) where breaches are punishable by points deductions. The cost-saving measures taken together are expected to save between £40m-45m in total.

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