Sir Alex Ferguson's Man Utd contract terminated in brutal managerial call

Manchester United part-owners Ineos have with . The legendary Scot, 82, who stepped down after 26 years at the helm in 2013, had signed an agreement to become a global ambassador for the club soon after.

It has now been revealed that this agreement, reportedly worth over $2.6 million-a-year and in place since October 2013, has been ended by Ineos. Ferguson was informed in a personal meeting with chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe that the club were looking to cut costs and could no longer afford to continue paying him beyond this season.

Sources have suggested that the meeting was friendly and there is no conflict between the club and Ferguson, who remains a non-executive director. Ratcliffe bought a minority stake in his childhood club last December and has implemented numerous off-field changes, including restructuring the club's backroom staff and making several redundancies after announcing plans to lay off 250 staff members.

The club were the second-highest spenders among Premier League clubs in this summer's transfer market, committing over £200million on transfers in an effort to reshape manager Erik ten Hag's squad. Ratcliffe has previously spoken highly of Ferguson, who is the most successful manager in the club's history, having won 38 trophies during his illustrious tenure at Old Trafford.

Ratcliffe fondly recalled a lengthy meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson earlier this year, saying: "He was the first person I met when I went up there which I think was the second week of January and I had a meeting from 9am to 10am at his house and I left at 1pm. He never stopped. He's got a lot of experience, a lot of stories to tell and a lot of thoughts about the club.", reports .

He added, "I don't think he has been encouraged to get involved but he is still very thoughtful about the club and he has an immense amount of experience. He really understands the values and traditions of the club and what it's all about. He's still fiercely competitive, Alex Ferguson."

Liverpool.com says: The Manchester United circus continues. Perhaps it is the right call for him to move away from the role while cost-cutting measures are being made elsewhere, but any negative news involving Ferguson will likely irk United fans.

Needless to say, it's easy for Liverpool to view while it's sat atop of the Premier League table.