Man Utd claim ending free meals for staff at Old Trafford will save £1m a year

Manchester United have claimed they will save £1m a year on free lunches and are reviewing their charitable activities as part of their latest round of cuts.

Chief executive Omar Berrada confirmed on Monday that another 150-200 jobs are at risk of redundancy in the club’s next tranche of cost-saving measures. This follows 250 job cuts made last year.

United will withdraw the offer of free lunch for staff based at Old Trafford, many of whom will be relocated to the training ground at Carrington, reduce bonuses and create a new, performance-related pay system.

The i Paper understands the club are also in talks with their charitable arm – the Manchester United Foundation – about their level of contribution, although a source insisted “significant support will continue”, including their annual £40,000 donation to the Manchester United Disabled Supporters’ Association (MUDSA).

United claim the changes will create “a more lean, agile and financially sustainable football club”.

“We deeply regret the impact on those affected colleagues,” Berrada said.

“However, these hard choices are necessary to put the club back on a stable financial footing. We have lost money for the past five consecutive years. This cannot continue.

“We have a responsibility to put United in the strongest position to win across our men’s, women’s and academy teams. Our two main priorities as a club are delivering success on the pitch for our fans and improving our facilities. We cannot invest in these objectives if we are continuously losing money.”

The club want to make a modernised, updated Carrington, rather than the ailing Old Trafford building, the centre of their footballing operations, and will reduce but retain their presence in London. That office recently moved from Mayfair to Kensington.

United have also announced the arrival of their new chief business officer Marc Armstrong from Paris Saint-Germain after lengthy negotiations between the two clubs. He previously worked as PSG’s chief revenue officer and will be tasked with maintaining United’s enormous commercial power with a reduced cost environment.