Kieran Maguire: Ratcliffe will slash Man United stars’ wages after source’s £30m reveal
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS will cut wages at Man United but encourage players to win trophies by including new bonus clauses in contracts.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the change in wage structure at Old Trafford.
As revealed by Football Insider on Wednesday (3 January), Ratcliffe plans to cut over £30million from United’s wage bill after taking sporting control at United.
The Red Devils dropped their wage bill down to £331million in their 2022/23 accounts, but their Champions League participation is likely to increase that figure for 2023/24 due to contract bonuses.
Multiple first-team stars, including Raphael Varane, have been asked to take pay cuts, while United are working behind the scenes to offload players with Donny van de Beek already out the door and Jadon Sancho closing in on a loan move to Borussia Dortmund.
Maguire believes a new pay structure will be implemented at United that includes bigger incentives for players if they win trophies.
“If you want the best you have to pay the best – that has been an adage in Premier League football since it started in 1992,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“Manchester United had the highest wage bill for most of the initial 10 to 15 years of the Premier League and they were notably very successful.
“They continued to have the highest wage bill in the Premier League as recently as 2021/22, although this substantially decreased last season due to the failure to qualify for the Champions League.
“What I think we’re likely to see with INEOS now in charge is an incentivised pay structure within contracts concerning top four finishes.
“But perhaps that will be extended even further in order to make winning trophies a greater priority.
“It was perhaps not the case during the Glazer regime as making money was always at the forefront of their thoughts.“
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