FANS couldn’t quite believe who Sir Alex Ferguson was sat next to as he watched the Europa League final from the stands in Bilbao.
Ferguson, 83, showed his support for the club he managed for 26 years a Manchester United took on Tottenham in the all-English European bout.
The legendary manager was attending his final away game as a paid ambassador for United, following the announcement he was being axed from his lucrative role in October.
That brutal axing was part of cost-cutting measures implemented by Sir Jim Ratcliffe – which made fans even more confused when they saw Ferguson sat next to the club’s minority owner at the game.
On social media, one wrote: “So the Glazers and Ratcliffe took away free tickets and sacked Fergie, now he’s sat next to them at the final?”
While another added: “Why is Fergie sitting next to Sir Jim and the Glazers?”
A third commented: “Glazers, Ratcliffe and Sir Alex Ferguson in one frame.”
And a fourth posted: “This makes me sick to my stomach”.
Fans were just as upset that Ferguson was so close to the Avram Glazer, whose family remains majority owners of the club despite Ratcliffe’s control of footballing matters.
It was Ratcliffe’s brutal cost-cutting measures that saw Ferguson’s paid role axed back in October.
The legendary Scottish manager had to wave goodbye to a £2.16m-per-year salary as a result, with the decision kicking in at the end of the current season.
Which means his attendance at the Europa League final tonight is his last away game as a club ambassador on the payroll.
Sir Alex had certainly been enjoying his trip to the Basque Country, stopping by Bilbao’s San Mames stadium before the match to visit Athletic Club officials.
He even took the time to sign a match ball and pennant in the hallways of the ground from Athletic’s 2011/12 victory over United in the Europa League round of 16.
And it seems he has put any bad blood from his axing in the past as he chatted away to Ratcliffe in the stands.
Ferguson wasn’t the only victim of Ratcliffe and Ineos’ brutal cost-cutting measures.
The billionaire Brit and his company cut costs by announcing nearly 500 redundancies at the Premier League giants.
Other more marginal financial savings have been made by scrapping free meals for Old Trafford staff, cancelling the staff Christmas party and stopping access to private chauffeurs and company credit cards.
While the United execs also decided against offering their employees free tickets to the Europa League final – instead hosting a watching party back in the UK.
Despite the mass cost-cutting, United announced in March plans to build a brand new £2billion 100,000-seat stadium in the near future.
All this has coincided with United’s worst ever season on the pitch, with manager Ruben Amorim now handed a lifeline to save the club’s season with a European trophy and place in the Champions League as they languish in 16th in the Premier League table.
A win over Spurs would mean a major trophy and a huge financial boost thanks to securing a return to Europe’s elite competition.
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