Manchester United, under the ambitious and rather wacky cost-cutting strategies of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, have asked rivals Manchester City if Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo could cadge a lift with their party of eight nominees to the Ballon d’Or – only to be told the flight was full.
As per reports from the Daily Mail, the four-peat Premier League champions have hired a private jet to transport their large delegation to Paris for the awards ceremony on Monday night. In a bizarre move, it has come to light that United enquired with their neighbors about any available spots for their two nominees. Unfortunately for the Old Trafford club, they were told there was no room on the flight, necessitating alternative arrangements.
United are in the midst of a series of cost-saving measures following the arrival at the club of Ratcliffe and his INEOS group earlier this year. The club is 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 from headcount across all departments by the end of August.
Other measures aimed at securing a healthier financial future for the club include the recent termination of Red Devils’ legend Sir Alex Ferguson from his ambassadorial position. Additionally, United employees experienced the cancellation of several perks they had previously enjoyed during trips to Wembley, just before last season’s FA Cup final against Manchester City. Staff were informed they would need to cover their own transportation costs to the national stadium, marking a significant departure from the club’s traditions.
The Red Devils appear to be going through a period of austerity, and with Garnacho and Mainoo both in the hunt for the Kopa Trophy, for the best player under 21, it appears the solemn new rules aren’t going to be sacrificed, even with every chance that one of their young players will be adorned with glory on Monday night.
In the men’s section for Man City, Ruben Dias, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland and Rodri are all in the running for the Ballon d’Or, while in the women’s, Yui Hasegawa, Lauren Hemp and Khadija Shaw are all up. Further to this, City’s Brazilian winger Savinho has been nominated for the same mantle as his United adversaries. Arsenal also have four candidates in the men’s section – Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and William Saliba and one woman, Mariona Caldentey.