Liverpool trump Man United amid £50m off-pitch twist

By – Thiruselvam

Liverpool are now ahead of arch rivals Man Untied in one particular category.

Liverpool have had the edge over United in recent years on the pitch, although the Red Devils are hoping the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe as co-owner could begin to turn the tide.

Ratcliffe bought a 27 per cent stake in the club from the Glazer family earlier this year and has wasted no time in making his mark.

The INEOS billionaire attracted scrutiny when he threatened workers with the sack if they were not willing to work on-site rather than from home.

And in contrast to the Glazers, the 71-year-old has already made a number of public appearances in which he has, among other gripes, criticised the Premier League’s financial rules.

His latest move is his most controversial yet.

Man United staff cuts see Liverpool become club with most employees

As reported by The Athletic, Ratcliffe is set to axe 250 jobs behind the scenes at Old Trafford.

The cuts are believed to effect virtually every department of the club.

It follows the appointment of Dan Ashworth as director of football and Omar Berrada as CEO among a raft of other hires behind the scenes.

As per the two clubs respective accounts, a 250-job cut would see United fall to 862 employees, while Liverpool have 1,008.

United previous had the most employees of any Premier League club, but Liverpool now have that status.

Writing on X, football finance expert Stefan Borson estimated that United would save around £10m per season from the mass exodus.

That would see their company-wide wage budget fall to £321m, which is £52m less than Liverpool’s total.

How does United and Liverpool’s wage bills compare to other clubs?

United have the third-biggest wage bill in the Premier League, behind Man City and Liverpool.

However, that figure is likely to have risen by the time they release their accounts for 2023-24, reflecting their return to the Champions League, where performance-related bonuses are a factor.

Ratcliffe is attempting to move the club more in this direction with an incentive structure similar to the model employed by the likes of Liverpool.

Source – TBRFootball