Sir Alex Ferguson will wrap up his reported 2 million pound-a-year ($2.6 million) ambassador role with Manchester United at the end of the season as part of the club's efforts to reduce costs.
The legendary manager led United to 38 trophies over nearly 27 years, including 13 Premier League titles and two European Cups.
According to the PA news agency, Ferguson has amicably agreed to end his ambassadorial duties at the season's close.
This decision, first reported by The Athletic, is part of a broader cost-cutting initiative by United under Ineos, which has overseen football operations since Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired a 27.7% stake in the club earlier this year.
Ferguson turns 83 in December, and the ambassador role is understood to be one of several time-consuming duties he plans to give up.
Club sources say there was no acrimony over this matter, with Ratcliffe having met Ferguson face-to-face to explain that the club could no longer sustain the ambassador payments.
The Athletic reported Ferguson received 2.16 million pounds for his ambassador duties in United’s 2014 accounts.
Ferguson will always be welcome at Old Trafford, United sources said, and he will remain a non-executive director on the football club board.
Last month, United posted losses of 113.2 million pounds for the year ending June 30, 2024, but the club insisted they are compliant with the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules, where breaches are punishable by points deductions.
The club is working to put itself on a more sustainable financial footing and has initiated several cost-saving measures, including a redundancy program that cut 250 jobs across all departments by the end of August.
The club said in its year-end accounts that it anticipates severance charges related to the redundancies will cost around £10 million.
The cost-saving measures are expected to save between 40 million pounds and 45 million pounds in total, and the club anticipates that will have a positive impact on United’s financial results for 2025 and 2026.
