- Man United host Brentford in a crucial Premier League match at Old Trafford
- Ferguson will be absent from the first match since his contract was torn up
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Sir Alex Ferguson will miss Manchester United’s match against Brentford on Saturday, the club’s first match since his ambassadorial contract was terminated.
Man United’s minority owners Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe made the decision to rip up Ferguson’s £2m-a-year contract as part of cost-cutting measures.
The 82-year-old has a previous engagement which led to his absence from Old Trafford on Saturday.
It remains to be seen how often he returns to the club where he became the greatest manager in United history, winning 38 trophies in 26 years.
Mail Sport reported this week that Ferguson and other members of the club’s football council have also been told to stay out of the dressing room, in a break with tradition.
Sir Alex Ferguson will miss Man United’s Premier League match against Brentford on Saturday
The match at Old Trafford will be the first since Sir Jim Ratcliffe ended an ambassadorial deal
Erik ten Hag admits that the decision to tear up Ferguson’s contract will have major consequences for the club
Man United boss Erik ten Hag praised Ferguson’s impact when asked about the legendary boss on Friday.
“Of course it has an impact on us,” said Ten Hag. ‘Sir Alex is Man United. He built United to where the club is today, and that has an impact on us.
‘But on the other hand we know, and Sir Alex knows, that is what he wants. He wants to see a winning Manchester United and I’m sure he is always available for advice. We will certainly need him in the short term, as we have in the last two and a half years that I have been here.
‘One thing is certain: there is hardly any club in the world where expectations are as high as at Man United. That’s set in Sir Alex’s era, and the rest of us who come after have to deal with this.”
The decision to end Ferguson’s lucrative ambassadorial role has divided opinion.
In his column in Mail Sport on Friday, Graeme Souness suggested the decision was a ‘disgraceful move’ and insisted that Ineos, Man United’s minority owner, ‘doesn’t understand how football really works’.
Former United striker Eric Cantona was a vocal critic of the move this week.
Cantona said: “Sir Alex Ferguson should be able to do whatever he wants at the club until the day he dies.
‘What a lack of respect. It’s downright scandalous. Sir Alex Ferguson will always be my boss! And I’ll throw them all in a big bag of shit!’
It remains to be seen how often Ferguson will return to the club where he became the greatest manager in United history
The clash between Man United and Brentford could be crucial for downtrodden boss Ten Hag
Sources insist the meeting was entirely amicable and that 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.
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.
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.
Man United face a difficult match against Brentford on Saturday as doubts remain over Ten Hag’s future.
The Red Devils have endured their worst start to a Premier League season with eight points from the opening seven games of the season.