Man Utd Reduces Stewards' £100 Bonus as Part of Latest Cost-Cutting Efforts

Manchester United have eliminated bonuses paid to stewards as part of the club's ongoing cost-cutting measures under Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Since Ratcliffe purchased a stake in the club, United have implemented significant cost-saving strategies, including making 250 staff members redundant, raising ticket prices, and ending Sir Alex Ferguson's ambassadorial deal.

It has now been revealed that the club has also scrapped a bonus scheme that previously rewarded stewards with an additional £100 for every 10 games worked, and £50 for being named steward of the week.

Frank Robinson, 67, who worked as a steward at Old Trafford for 24 years, decided to quit last year due to Ratcliffe's changes. "A lot of stewards are leaving since Ratcliffe came in," Robinson told the i.

"Up until last year they used to get an attendance bonus. Every 10 matches we did, we got a £100 bonus. Now they said you're not having that. So they stopped that completely. For many years you'd have a steward of the week, someone nominated or fans wrote in and said how well this steward had done.

"You got £50 for that. Now they still have steward of the week, but they have no award. It's very petty for a football club. You're pinching off people at the bottom of the ladder."

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Robinson also claimed that he is not the only long-time employee to leave since Ratcliffe took charge. "Supervisors and stewards who have been at United for years are quitting," he added.

"Some stewards in their 70s, they're putting them into the top tier of the North Stand because they know they won't like it and they'll leave. They can bring more agency staff in. They're trying to force them out. They are getting rid of stewards and replacing them with untrained, unqualified agency staff.

"There's no overheads with agency staff, no training, no uniforms, nobody having to work wages and holiday out. I always thought I'd do my 25 years then think about packing it in, but there was no incentive."