‘Firing’ Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United’s global ambassador was never going to get in the way of a good time.
The legendary gaffer was publicly spotted for the first time on Tuesday evening after United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe ruthlessly sacked him from his £2.16million-a-year role.
Ferguson will no longer be allowed in the Old Trafford dressing room in a stinging blow amid Ratcliffe’s major restructuring of the club.
But dressed in an all-grey suit, he looked a great advertisement for Cibo restaurant in Hale, a village south-west of Manchester, where he got stuck on the menu.
The 82-year-old was joined by Albert Morgan, United’s longtime iconic kitman who served for 20 years and retired in 2013, for a meal at the chic restaurant where a bottle of Sassicaia red wine can set the merrier back £425.
Sir Alex Ferguson was photographed leaving Cibo restaurant in Hale, near Manchester, after being brutally banned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe at Man United’s global ambassador
He enjoyed a night out for dinner with the club’s legendary former kitman, Albert Morgan
Ferguson is Ratcliffe’s biggest casualty after he cut 250 jobs in a bid to create a leaner company
Ratcliffe informed Ferguson that he would lose his role in a face-to-face meeting, ending his 38 years as a paid employee at United after this season.
Lifelong United fan Ratcliffe, 71, told the Glaswegian that given the deep cuts the club was no longer prepared to pay him his previous salary. Ferguson will remain as a non-executive director and retain his place on the directors’ box and table for eight years, organizing home games.
Mail Sport’s sources insist the meeting was entirely amicable and that 82-year-old Ferguson, who will retain his title as non-executive director, remains a close friend of the club who will always be welcome at Old Trafford.
United deny they have directly banned Ferguson from the dressing room but say there is now a ‘collective understanding’ about who goes in – and Mail Sport have reported he has been banned from the inner sanctum following a change in policy after the match.
Visits to the locker room have been part of club culture for decades. Ferguson and fellow football board members David Gill and Mike Edelson were always welcome, as were Sir Bobby Charlton and former director Maurice Watkins before they died.
Ferguson, who won 38 trophies in 26 years, signed a deal after retiring in 2013 to continue as the club’s global ambassador and director. In 2014, United said Ferguson, 82, received £2.16 million for his services.
Over the past eleven and a half years, Ferguson’s duties have included representing United around the world, covering matches with the club’s partners and sponsors at Old Trafford and appearing in promotional videos.
Ratcliffe is said to have informed the club legend of his decision to make changes – including the end of his ambassadorial role – at Old Trafford
The tradition of dressing room visits dates back to the era of legendary manager Sir Matt Busby (pictured right in 1962)
The Scot has been a regular spectator at home and away games, apart from the period after he suffered a life-threatening brain haemorrhage in 2018 and after the death of his wife, Lady Cathy, a year ago.
He is often seen sitting next to Ratcliffe in the directors’ box and chatting to the Ineos owner since he paid £1.3 billion to acquire 27.7 percent of the club.
The Glazer family were happy to allow Ferguson to continue in his well-paid role, partly in recognition that his success on the field brought huge financial benefits to the club.
Ineos has made a series of brutal cuts since acquiring a quarter of the club’s shares earlier this year.
As Mail Sport revealed, they recently made 250 redundancies across various departments – around a quarter of their workforce.